


More Than Friends

by chyron_girl



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Time, Protective Jason, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:33:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 85,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chyron_girl/pseuds/chyron_girl
Summary: What happens when Clay and Emma meet up in New York.
Relationships: Emma Hayes/Clay Spenser
Comments: 28
Kudos: 82





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for SEAL Team. It was originally published on FF.net. I've jumped on the Clay/Emma bandwagon. He really is too old for her, but there's just something about them. However, I've set this in the future because I just don't see him dating a high schooler. (Okay, it was the future, but they would have met up by now, if there hadn't been a pandemic.). I'm putting Emma's birth date in Juneish of 2000, so that would mean she's turning 20 at the end of her first year at NYU. Also, I'm totally ignoring the new guy (he came around after I started this and is already gone too) and the whole SAVIS situation.

Clay lay back in his hammock and relaxed. Their current mission was successfully completed, and he was happy to be headed home. With one leg hanging over the side, he was able to reach the floor with his toes to keep the hammock swinging gently while he observed his fellow team members. Jason and Ray were sitting on some equipment trunks and enjoying beers, while Brock and Cerb were already asleep in Brock’s hammock. Trent was lying in his hammock reading a book. If Clay had to guess, he would say it was some kind of medical text. He couldn’t see Sonny, but his voice was just loud enough over the noise of the C-17 for Clay to make out its playful tone. He assumed Sonny was teasing Davis about something.

Clay thought about getting out a book of his own. In his bag he had two that he was reading, but neither one appealed to him right now. As he laid there debating whether he wanted to read or see if he could just fall asleep, he saw Ray get up from his position opposite Jason and wander back up to the front of the plane. This opened up a new option for Clay to consider. He really needed to speak to Jason privately, and this might be the right time. Just before they had been spun up for this mission, Clay had decided he needed to approach Jason about Emma. 

Emma had not been thrilled when Clay told her he needed to speak to her dad before Clay would feel comfortable asking her out for an actual date. She had pointed out that this was the 21st century and that at the age of nineteen, almost twenty, she did not need her father’s permission to date. While Clay understood her annoyance, he knew that Jason finding out after the fact would be a real problem for the team.

Once Clay had laid out his reasoning to Emma, she had been more understanding. She still wasn’t happy exactly, but she could see his concerns about the team and how difficult it would be for the two of them if her father found out after they started dating. He also thought he had heard some relief in Emma’s voice when she agreed to wait until after he spoke to her father for their first real date. From her comments and that tone in her voice, Clay realized Emma had thought he was stalling on asking her out because he wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship with her.

Telling himself it was now or never, Clay started to sit up in his hammock. Just before he swung his other leg over the side to stand up however, he saw Sonny join Jason with another beer for their team leader. Clay fell back into his hammock and sighed. He never meant to end up in this position. Maybe if he hadn’t gone to New York City back in March he wouldn’t have this dilemma now. He would never have bumped into Emma in that coffee shop, and then he wouldn’t have gotten to know her better or realized how perfect she was for him. 

He had only gone to New York to support a former teammate who was going through serious rehab for an injured shoulder. After his own experience with the rehab on his leg he understood better than most how challenging getting your strength back could be, particularly if you had doubts about whether or not you would ever be able to rejoin your brothers on your team. He and Mike had served together when Clay had first become a SEAL, so when he heard that Mike had been injured on a mission Clay had given him a call. Mike, who was staying with his family in Brooklyn, sounded pretty down and his family really didn’t understand why he wanted to get back on the teams. So, when Blackburn told Clay he had a week’s leave on the books, visiting Mike seemed like a good way to use it.

Mike’s family may not have understood Mike’s commitment to the SEALs, but they were more than welcoming to one of his Navy buddies. His mother seemed to make it her mission to fatten Clay up. The first part of his visit was spent giving Mike the encouragement he needed. Clay had taken a page out of Swanny’s book and harassed Mike during his PT. 

Towards the end of Clay’s visit Mike had an appointment at NYU Medical Center. His Navy doctor wanted him to see another specialist. Clay planned on accompanying Mike to his appointment and staying with him for the variety of tests the doctor had scheduled, but Mike insisted that there was no reason for Clay to waste his day sitting around waiting for Mike. Instead, he suggested Clay come into Manhattan with him and then spend the day checking out the city. Clay only agreed once Mike promised to call Clay if he needed him for any reason.

Once Clay left Mike at the hospital, he had slowly started walking down 1st Avenue toward Lower Manhattan. He really didn’t have any specific destination in mind. He was just enjoying the energy of the city. He thought he’d eventually stop and look on his phone for places nearby he might want to check out, but initially he was happy just meandering along.

Eventually he realized he was getting hungry and the chill of the March day was seeping into his bones. Not thinking about the fact that March in New York City was a lot colder than March in Virginia Beach, he really hadn’t brought a warm enough jacket on this trip. He had been following signs pointing the way to Washington Square Park, but now he started to keep an eye out for a place to grab some lunch and maybe a hot drink.

Another block or so along he spied a coffee shop that looked good to him. He liked that it wasn’t a chain, and when he looked in the window, he could see a menu that listed a variety of soups and sandwiches. As he stepped inside his stomach growled at the delicious smells and he was very happy to feel the warmth of the space surround him.

Concentrating on the menu, he wasn’t looking where he was going as much as he should have been. He bumped into a young woman who was stepping back from the counter with a hot drink in her hand.

“Oh my God,” the young woman exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“No,” Clay immediately responded. “It’s my fault. I was looking at the menu and not paying attention.” Although, Clay had thought to himself, I’m not that sorry to have bumped into a beautiful young woman. From what he could see as she turned away to grab some napkins from the counter, she had long, blond hair and curves in all the right places, which he had already noticed when he bumped into her.

“You didn’t burn yourself with your drink, did you?” Clay asked as she wiped the sleeve of her sweater.

“No, no,” she replied. “Just spilled a little on my sleeve.” She tossed the damp napkins in a barrel by them and then pushed her hair off her face as she looked up at him.

Clay’s breath had frozen in his throat.

“Clay!” She said with surprise.

“Emma!” He replied equally taken aback. Holy shit, he had thought to himself, I was just thinking about Emma Hayes’ curves. Not good. “Um, let me buy you a fresh drink,” he stammered. “Half that one is on the floor.”

“Um, okay,” Emma replied looking uncertain. “It’s just a Mocha latte with cinnamon sprinkled on top, with skim milk.”

“Great. I’ll order it along with some food for me.”

“Okay, thanks,” Emma replied, then hesitated by him. “I’m just going to my seat. I got a place on the couches and I don’t want to lose it.” She waved her hand in the direction of a seating area near the fireplace.

Clay smiled at her. “No problem. It’s the least I can do. I’ll bring it over when it’s ready.”

Emma had nodded and headed back to her spot on one of the couches. Clay watched her as she walked away and then mentally shook himself before going to the counter to place his order.

Once he had a tray with Emma’s drink and a soup and sandwich along with a water for himself, he had headed over to where she was sitting. As he approached, she smiled up at him and began collecting all the papers she had spread around the coffee table in front of her, by her laptop, and on the couch next to her. He could see some were printed music scores, but others looked like handwritten music notes on paper lined with music staff.

“I spread my things out to save you a spot,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I hope you don’t mind using the coffee table instead of a regular table.”

“No,” Clay answered as he lowered himself to an armchair by her spot at the end of the couch. “This looks great. Much more comfortable.”

As Clay settled himself back into the armchair, which was very comfortable after his long walk around Manhattan, Emma watched him with a smile playing around her lips.

“So, Clay Spenser. What are you doing in New York City? You’re the last person I’d expect to see here. Wait, scratch that. My Dad is the last person, but you’re a close second, along with Uncle Sonny.”

“What?” Clay laughed. “You don’t think I’m hip enough to be hanging in the City? I’m too redneck?”

Emma grinned, “No, no. You’re hip enough. Uncle Sonny, definitely too redneck, but I can see you here. It’s just that I always assume you’re off with my Dad on secret missions in foreign lands.”

“Well now, Miss Hayes,” Clay teased her, “you know what happens when you assume.”

“I know. I know.” Emma said shaking her head. 

“Jason not a New York City fan, huh?” Clay asked.

“No,” Emma replied ruefully. “Last fall he told me he hoped New York didn’t ruin me.”

Clay laughed and Emma joined in. That sounded exactly like something Jason Hayes would say.

“So, no secret mission in the city, then?” Emma asked.

Clay smiled. “No, just had some leave so I came up to Brooklyn to visit a buddy. He’s over at NYU Medical Center today, so I’m doing some sightseeing.”

Emma’s expression became more serious. “He’s okay though, your friend?”

Clay was touched that she was concerned about Mike even though she had never met him. “Mike, my friend, has a shoulder injury that he’s rehabbing, so his doctor wanted him to see another specialist at NYU. Mike ordered me to go sightseeing instead of hanging around the hospital waiting for him.” Clay paused before continuing, “I think he’s going to be okay. I feel like his Navy doc is just being cautious because Mike will eventually want to return to duty as a SEAL.”

A look of comprehension, and amusement, had flashed across Emma’s face at Clay’s statement about Mike wanting to return to the Teams.

“What’s that look mean?” Clay asked.

“Nothing, nothing,” Emma said. “I just know you SEALs.”

“I guess you do,” Clay conceded, and Emma just smiled at him over the rim of her mug. “So, what you are doing in this coffee shop out of all the places you could be in New York?” Clay asked her.

“Clay,” Emma began chidingly, “this coffee shop is about three blocks from my dorm. They have great Mochas and it’s a good place to get some work done when my roommate is being, uh, annoying.”

“Hmm, I wasn’t even thinking that Tisch would be nearby, but I guess I should have realized since NYU buildings are all over this part of Manhattan,” Clay mused. “Roommate problems, huh?”

“Not problems, so much,” Emma replied. “We just have nothing in common and our study habits really don’t mesh at all. But it’s okay, the semester will be over in a month and a half and I’ve already picked a new room for next year with a friend.”

Clay nodded, being in the Navy had given him experience with not so great roommates. “That’s good. So, other than the not great roommate you like it?”

A big smile immediately lit up Emma’s face. “I love it. Being able to study music and just talk about it with other people who love it as much as I do is, I don’t know, I don’t even have the words to describe it. And even the liberal arts requirements I’ve had to take, like literature and stuff, have been great. And I’ve gone to a bunch of shows, school gets us discounted tickets.” Emma beamed as she talked about how much she was enjoying her program at Tisch. Watching her talk about it made Clay smile too. She glowed with happiness, and Clay thought how beautiful she looked when she was this happy.

Eventually Emma blushed, “I’m sorry, I’m totally gushing.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Clay reassured her. “It’s great to hear how much you’re enjoying it. I love what I do, so I always want to hear other people are passionate about what they’re doing. Otherwise, why do it?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, I am passionate about it, and I feel like here I can really pursue that, which is even better than I expected it to be.” Emma paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “It’s funny, I think I get that from my Dad. He’s so passionate about being a SEAL, but I feel like he doesn’t understand my passion for music at all.”

“Well, I think that has more to do with him being a dad and worrying about you.” Clay smiled at Emma’s sigh of frustration at his comment. “But he’s really proud of you. He’s always telling us about how great you’re doing here, and he played a clip of you singing at some performance you did a couple months ago.”

“Oh my God, he did not!” Emma’s blush colored her cheeks prettily as she looked at him with embarrassment. “He made you all watch me singing? That is so mortifying!”

“No reason to be embarrassed. You sounded pretty good to me.” Clay then added with a smile, “Besides we like watching everyone’s videos from home. Ray must have showed us the recording of RJ taking his first steps about ten times. We all watched it like it was the first time every time.”

“Oh, so now my singing is on the same level as RJ walking. Thanks, Clay.” Emma huffed.

Clay grinned at her. “I didn’t say it was as good as RJ walking. I mean, Emma, he took five whole steps.”

“Ooooh! Clay Spenser, you are mean!” Emma exclaimed as she threw one of her crumpled-up papers at him, hitting him on the center of his forehead.

Clay laughed hard. He couldn’t help himself. “Sorry, Em, I can’t help teasing you.”

“Hmpf,” Emma snorted, trying to pretend she was angry at Clay, then she began to laugh with him.

Finally, their laughter petered out, and they sat quietly for a moment recovering. Emma glanced at the clock on the wall and sat up. “Oh damn, it’s after two. I have to go, or I’ll be late for class.” She began shoving all her papers and her laptop into her bag. “Will you be in the City much longer?”

Clay had been disappointed to see her pack up to go. He hadn’t even realized how much time had gone by. “I’m in Brooklyn through the weekend, but I’m not sure what our plans are.”

Emma held her hand out. “Give me your phone.”

“My phone, why?” Clay asked.

Emma began motioning with her fingers. “Hand it over. I’m giving you my number so if you come back into the city and need suggestions on places to see, where else to get great coffee, whatever, you can contact me. You know, because you’re not that hip, Clay Spenser.” Emma smirked at him while she waited for him to hand over the phone.

He gave it to her unlocked and she entered her number. “Okay, gotta go.” She handed him back his phone as she stood up.

Clay stood up as well. “It was good seeing you, Emma. I’m glad I bumped into you. Enjoy your class.”

“I’m glad I bumped into you too, Clay. Take care of yourself on those secret missions,” she said with a ghost of a smile. Then she turned and wove her way between the tables and chairs and headed out the door.

Clay sat back down and picked at the remains of his sandwich. Somehow some of the sunlight had seemed to go out of the day once she left.

Clay and Mike had met up again once Mike was done at the hospital. The new doctor felt a full recovery was possible, but he suggested another minor surgery to repair a little more of the damaged tissue. Once Mike’s Navy doctor discussed the procedure with his colleague from NYU, he agreed with the treatment plan and on Friday Mike was ordered to report to Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego. He would have to catch a flight early Saturday morning.

Clay had planned to stay at Mike’s until Sunday morning, but with Mike leaving on Saturday Clay decided to do the same. Mike kept apologizing for the change in plans, but Clay understood too well how the Navy worked.

On Friday night Clay was looking at his phone to see about changing his train when he pulled up his contacts and saw Emma’s number. Before he could think about it too much, he sent her a text.

**202-555-1212**

Hey, it’s Clay. I suddenly have tomorrow free. Any sightseeing advice?

After what seemed to him like a century, but was probably only five minutes, she replied.

**Emma H**

That depends…

**Clay S**

On what?

**Emma H**

Are you just looking for some suggestions or do you need a tour guide?

**Clay S**

A guide, definitely

**Emma H**

Well, it happens that I know a guide who’s available tomorrow. :)

**Clay S**

That’s handy. Where should I meet this guide?

**Emma H**

The coffee shop?

**Clay S**

Works for me. 10am?

**Emma H**

Perfect

Do you want to go to the 9-11 Memorial and Museum? If you don’t that’s okay. Might be a downer for your vacation.

**Clay S**

Actually I’d really like that.

**Emma H**

C U at 10am!

The next morning Clay and Mike said their goodbyes and Clay headed into Manhattan. Clay needed to stop at a luggage storage place near Penn Station to store his bag before he met Emma in Lower Manhattan. He arrived at the coffee shop a little before ten, so he got in line to order them drinks. 

As he picked up the drinks Emma bounced up beside him. “Hey Clay! Ready for your tour?”

“Ready,” he replied. “And here’s a drink for my guide. One mocha latte with skim milk and cinnamon on top.”

Emma gave him a big smile as she took the drink. “Thank you,” she said and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek.

Clay was a little surprised but was more than willing to be caught up in Emma’s good mood. “So, you’re pretty cheery this morning.”

“I know. Sorry if I’m a little crazy. I had a performance for one of my professors yesterday morning and he sent me the critique with my grade last night. He gave me an A and had really good things to say. He also gave me things I should work on, but he was really positive, which was great because I kind of thought he wasn’t happy with my work.” 

Clay grinned at Emma. She was practically dancing in place she seemed so pleased.

“That’s great. I’m glad it went well.”

“And now I have today free to be a tourist,” she added. “So, let’s get a move on.”

“Lead the way. You’re the guide for this outing,” he said, opening the door for them to exit the coffee shop.

They took the subway down to the 9-11 Memorial. Before entering the museum, they walked around the Memorial looking at the names around the fountains. Emma stopped at one point and was running her hand pensively across some of the names carved into the stone.

Clay stepped up beside her. “Hey, Em, what are you thinking?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she replied softly. “You know, I’ve been in New York since the beginning of summer and this is the first time I’ve come here.”

“Didn’t you want to before now?” He asked her.

“I did and I didn’t,” she explained. “I was little when this happened and I don’t really remember any of it, but because of my Dad it has affected my entire life.”

Clay nodded because he could understand that. “It’s affected my entire career in the Navy too.”

Emma turned to look at him, “I didn’t want to come here alone, but I haven’t felt like my friends would understand. Not because they’re not nice or sympathetic, but none of them have anyone close to them in the military. They don’t get it. It’s one of the weirdest things about being here in New York. In Virginia a lot of the people I know have a family member in some branch of the military. They understand about deployments and worrying about that call in the night, you know. But here it’s a whole different world.”

Clay knew exactly what she meant. When he was dating Stella and he met her friends from the University they couldn’t understand why anyone would want to be in the military. It was as if they had come from another world where a commitment to duty and fighting for your country were foreign concepts.

Emma sighed and Clay slid his arm around her shoulders. “Growing up I used to get so angry at my Dad. I couldn’t understand why he needed to go away and miss birthdays and family events and just not be there when I needed him. But then I stand here, and I see all these names and I think of all the people they represent and all the people that loved and needed them and I understand why it’s important.”

Clay squeezed Emma’s shoulder and she leaned her head into his. They stood there for a while just listening and watching as others made their way through the Memorial. Finally, Emma lifted her head from Clay’s shoulder and gave him a faint smile.

“Let’s go into the museum.”

Emma and Clay spent the rest of the morning going through the museum. At times it was sad, but at others it was uplifting. Clay couldn’t think of anyone else he would rather have toured the exhibits with. He was glad she had suggested it as he probably wouldn’t have visited on his own.

Once they finished at the museum they stopped for lunch and then spent the rest of the day playing tourist. First, they went down to the Battery and walked around the park before hopping on a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and then Ellis Island. After that they took a train back uptown and walked around Central Park, and then finally as dusk was falling, they went to the top of the Empire State Building. Emma told Clay that the observatory at One World Trade Center was higher, but the Observation Deck on the Empire State Building would always be the classic one to visit.

Clay had been sorry to see their day together end. Even now as he rocked gently in his hammock in the belly of the C-17, he smiled as he remembered how much fun he had had with Emma that day. He had found out that Emma was funny and had a wicked sense of humor. They both had spent most of the day after visiting the 9-11 Museum cracking jokes. One recurring joke between them was about how different things in New York were going to “ruin” Emma.

After a hug from Emma, they had parted at Penn Station, Emma to catch a subway train to her dorm and he to board his Amtrak train home. Clay had watched her disappear down the escalator until he couldn’t make out even a glint of her blond hair. Then he had turned with a sigh and headed to the Amtrak waiting area.

A day or two after he had returned to duty in Virginia, a photo from Emma of a bowl of noodles with vegetables and something else mixed in popped up on his phone. It had quickly been followed by a text.

**Emma H**

So I think New York has ruined me. I eat tofu now. A lot. ;)

**Clay S**

Emma! Are you turning into a vegetarian?!?

**Emma H**

I sometimes think I should. But then I remember how good steak tips taste. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Clay S**

Not ruined yet then. We’ll need to schedule a tofu intervention though.

And from there it had just grown. Whatever _it_ was. If anyone had asked Clay at the time, he would have told them he and Emma were just friends. They often texted each other for no special reason, just because something happened that Clay thought Emma would find funny. Or Emma would share something that happened in class. If the thought of Emma’s curves had sometimes crept into Clay’s head, he just pushed it away. She was Jason Hayes’ daughter after all. And if he sometimes looked at the selfie of him and Emma on the ferry in New York Harbor, he told himself it was just because he needed something happy to see when he was decompressing from missions. Never mind that he was in Virginia doing training ops some of the times he stared at it.

Then in late April something happened that made Clay realize how important Emma had become to him. The team had gone on a mission to Algeria in search of human traffickers. Mandy had solid intel that the group was responsible for the abduction of two female American college students who had been travelling in Morocco. Bravo team went in and were able to rescue the students along with about fifteen children who were going to be sold into slavery.

Clay had seen many terrible things during his time as a SEAL, but the images of those children and those two young women would not leave his brain. He believed the young women and some of the children had been sexually abused. The haunted looks in their eyes were almost more than he could take.

Once they returned to the base, Clay hit the showers, but the thought of food made him ill. He went back to their C-17 to wait for their departure. He sat down on one of the crates waiting to be loaded into the hold and took his phone out. He saw that Davis had set up WIFI for them to use if they wanted. He pulled up Whatsapp and sent a message to Emma. He thought she might be asleep due to the time difference, but he hoped not.

**Clay**

Hey Em, you up?

**Emma**

I am. Study, study, study. That’s me.

**Clay**

I don’t want to disturb you.

**Emma**

You’re not. I need a break. What has you up in the middle of the night?

**Clay**

It’s not the middle of the night where I am.

**Emma**

Oh

Everything okay?

**Clay**

Not so much

Instead of a message in reply, his phone rang. It was Emma calling through Whatsapp.

“Hey, Em,” he answered the call.

“Clay,” she said gently. “What’s wrong?”

Clay debated how to put into words what he could say. “Well, we just returned from a mission and…” He trailed off not sure what to say next.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Emma asked.

“No, nothing like that,” he replied. “We’re all fine. No injuries.”

“That’s good.” Clay could hear the relief in Emma’s voice.

“There were just… kids…,” he said slowly. “It’s always worse when there are kids. And two college students, they reminded me of you.” Once he said that Clay realized why this mission seemed so terrible. Sure, it was always worse with children involved, but those young women made him think of Emma. And the thought of Emma ever being hurt like that…

“Oh, Clay,” Emma softly breathed through the phone. Clay squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on Emma’s voice. “I’m fine. I’m safe here in my bed, in my dorm room, on the female only floor of the dorm. Nice and safe.”

Clay pictured Emma sitting in her dorm room, cozy in her bed. He had a vague idea of what it looked like. Emma had once texted him a photo taken in her dorm room of her posing in a costume she had on for some school event.

“Wait,” he said with a little smile in his voice. “The female only floor?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Spenser.” Emma chided. “It’s nowhere near as good as what you’re imagining, particularly when we all need the bathroom.”

“I wasn’t thinking anything like that,” Clay protested.

“Uh huh. Sure,” Emma said. “Of course, there are those times when we all have a big pillow fight while we’re wearing skimpy pajamas. That—”

“Emma!” Clay exclaimed starting to laugh as he cut her off. “Stop it!”

“Well, that cheered you up fast,” Emma said with a little chuckle.

“You’re a smart ass, you know that?” Clay asked her.

“Mmmm, it’s been mentioned before,” Emma retorted. “But you do know whose daughter I am, right?”

That was a sobering thought for Clay. Yes, he knew exactly whose daughter she was.

“Seriously though, Clay,” Emma continued. “It’s practically a convent here. That’s how safe I am.”

“A convent, really?” Clay snorted.

“Really,” she replied. “Even when I try to date, it turns out to be platonic. I might as well be a nun, except I’m not Catholic.”

Dating, Clay thought, who is she dating? She never mentioned dating anyone. “Who is this guy you’re dating?” Clay asked.

“It was a single date, not dating,” Emma answered. “Or I thought it was a date, but I obviously read the signals wrong. He asked me to have coffee with him, and—”

“Coffee? At our coffee place?” Clay questioned.

“Oh, I didn’t realize we owned it now. But it was somewhere else, since you’re so concerned.” Emma continued, “When he asked, I thought, why not? He’s cute. He seems nice. He’s in the music program. So, I agreed.”

Clay had the strongest urge to punch this guy in his “cute” face.

Completely unaware of Clay’s annoyance with her date, Emma went on. “I met him at the coffee shop. The chairs, by the way, were not as comfortable as the couches at _our_ coffee place. He bought us drinks, and—”

“Did he get a you a mocha latte with skim milk and cinnamon on top?” Clay interrupted.

“No, Clay, he bought me a caramel macchiato,” Emma replied sounding just a little annoyed. “Do you not want me to finish this story? We can talk about something else, if you want.”

“No, no,” Clay replied hastily. “I want to hear the rest.” He needed to know what had happened on this date.

“Okay,” she continued. “Like I said, he bought us drinks, and we sat down. I’m just going to point out here that I hate that what happened next totally reinforces a stereotype and makes me look like an idiot.”

What the hell, Clay thought. Did he slip something in her drink? “Don’t leave me hanging here, Emma. What happened?”

“In one of our music classes we were assigned partners for duets. Rob, my so-called date, just wanted to pump me for info about my partner, Kevin.” Emma sighed.

“Wait, what?” Clay asked.

“He’s gay, Clay. He wasn’t interested in me. He was interested in Kevin.” Emma let out a more frustrated sigh now. “Here I was thinking some cute guy asked me out, and it turns out he isn’t even interested in women. And I didn’t even realize!”

“But, Emma,” Clay said trying not to laugh at her. “You’re in music. Aren’t most of the guys—”

“Oh see,” Emma cut him off, “that’s the stereotype. Not all guys in music are gay.”

Now Clay had completely lost the battle to hold in his laughter. He finally gasped out, “How would you know, Emma? If you couldn’t tell this guy…” His laughter took over again.

“Clay Spenser,” Emma practically shouted over his laughter. “If you were in front of me right now, I would be strangling you. Just know that.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Clay gasped as he finally got control over his laughter.

“Humph, I think you’d be more appreciative of the fact that I told you a very embarrassing story about myself just to cheer you up.” Emma said, sounding a little miffed.

“I am, Emma,” Clay replied much more seriously. “Appreciative, that is. You really helped me here. I know it must be frustrating for you that I can’t even tell you where I am or what we’re doing, but just hearing your voice has really helped. The embarrassing story only made it even better.”

“I’m glad,” Emma replied softly.

Clay sat there on the crate just smiling. Neither one of them spoke, but neither was ready to hang up the phone either. But sooner than Clay would have liked he saw crew starting to load the plane. One of the crew members gestured to the crate Clay was sitting on, so Clay hopped down and walked a little away from the plane, but not moving too far from the WIFI signal.

“Emma, I have to go. They’re loading the plane now, so we’re going to be wheels up soon.”

“Okay, Clay,” Emma replied, the rest of her response interrupted by a big yawn.

Clay smiled softly. “Go to sleep now. Save the rest of the studying for morning.”

“Hmm, ‘kay,” Emma murmured as she fought drifting off to sleep. “Text me when you get home safe, okay?”

“I will. Sweet dreams,” he whispered before ending the call.

That, Clay realized, was the point where they were more than just friends. He just didn’t want to admit it to himself at the time, but it was obvious to him now that that phone call was the tipping point. When the plane landed back in Virginia, he texted Emma to say he was home safe, and after that he always let her know when he was spun up and when he returned home.

Things had become more serious between them, but it wasn’t until Emma told him she was coming home to Virginia Beach for the summer that he recognized how serious. Initially he had been excited about her coming home for the summer, then he was worried. Was she coming home for him? Did he want her to? Was he reading way too much into this? And she was still Emma Hayes. He shouldn’t even be thinking about Jason Hayes’ daughter like this.

He decided the only thing to do was ask. Not that he planned on asking outright if she was interested in him and if she was coming home to be nearer to him. He had some standards, after all. The next time they spoke he listened to her chat about her upcoming finals and final projects for a bit and then he took the plunge.

“Hey Em, what made you decide to come back to Virginia Beach this summer?” He thought that was a good compromise. Get some intel without exposing himself.

“I’m worried about my Dad,” she replied. “I think he’s not doing well without me and Mikey there.” 

Clay did not disagree with that. Maybe having Emma around would get Jason to lay off just a little in training.

“Also,” Emma continued, “I miss the beach. I love New York, but it was crazy hot last summer with no great beaches close by.”

A thought occurred to Clay. “Where are you going to stay? Your Dad’s current place isn’t that roomy.”

“Oh, I thought I told you,” Emma answered breezily. “I got a job with one of the little hotels on Virginia Beach. I’m going to work the front desk and my pay includes a room. It won’t be as nice as the rooms in the hotel, and I’ll probably have to share, but it should be fine for the summer.”

Emma’s answers had given Clay a little more information, but he still had no idea what she was thinking. He decided the best thing to do was wait and see what happened when she returned to Virginia Beach. As a SEAL, Clay had a need to control things, which made taking the wait and see approach challenging for him. His brain was wired to work the problem for a solution, but he wasn’t sure there was a solution here. Whatever Emma was thinking, she was still Jason Hayes’ daughter, which put her firmly in the off-limits category.

Clay shook his head. He could see now how foolish he had been to think that he could just find out what Emma was thinking and then decide what would happen. Also, he now realized he had underestimated his own feelings for Emma and how much he wanted to belong with her. 

Once Emma returned to Virginia Beach, she was like a magnet for him. After a day of training he wanted to take a left out of the gate and head toward the beach where she was instead of taking a right to go to his apartment. He really tried to keep their meetings to a minimum. He grabbed a meal with her one night to welcome her back to Virginia, and another time he helped her get her friend Hannah back to Emma’s room. Hannah had been upset over a guy and had had too much to drink. Clay helped Emma practically carry Hannah back to Emma’s room. 

He thought he was doing so well keeping his distance, but then they spent the day at the beach and his carefully constructed wall separating them fell apart. About a week after Emma was back in Virginia, Clay was spun up on a mission in the Middle East. The team spent way too much time sitting around and waiting on that one and he had spent a bit of that time messaging with Emma. From her messages it was obvious she was enjoying a great day at the beach. He told her there was a lot of sand where he was but no water. She had sent him back a picture of the ocean on a beautiful stretch of beach that he didn’t recognize. Emma told him it was a smaller beach off the main drag that only locals in Virginia Beach really knew about. She promised to take him there when he got back.

Once he got back from the Middle East, it took a little while for them to actually get days off that coincided. They finally did, and the trip to the beach was planned. Clay picked Emma up at the hotel and right from the start he knew he was in trouble. As he pulled up, Emma was waiting for him with some towels and a bag of food and drinks to put in his cooler. She was wearing a pretty yellow sundress over her bathing suit with her hair pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her head. When she smiled at him in welcome, he thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

While Clay added Emma’s food and drink contributions to the cooler, she got settled in the passenger seat. They drove away from the hotel and Emma began giving him directions to her beach. The drive wasn’t too long, but the beach was definitely off the beaten path. He could see how it was more a of a locals kind of place. 

They arrived and unloaded everything they had brought. Clay laid out a blanket and Emma arranged their shoes, towels, and the cooler on the edges of it to keep it from blowing around. Then Emma took off her sundress. Clay had thought her curves looked good in jeans and a sweater back in March, but now in a bikini in May he was overwhelmed. He thanked his maker she had put on sunblock before they came out in the sun, because there was no way he could have helped her with that without giving himself away. He had a hard enough time not grabbing her and kissing her senseless when she helped him out by spreading sunblock on his back and shoulders.

Their day at the beach had ended up being a lot of fun, once Clay was able to relax. A quick dip in the cold water on his own helped him out with that. 

At the end of the day he drove Emma back to the hotel. He pulled his truck up around the back near the employee quarters and he turned to Emma. She smiled at him, and he could see the freckles that had come out on her nose from the sun. Pieces of her hair had come loose from her bun, and he reached out and pushed some behind her ear. Then without even thinking about what he was doing, he leaned down and kissed her.

It was a spectacular kiss, and the only thing Clay could think when he lifted his head and looked down into Emma’s beautiful face was that he was so screwed. This wasn’t just any girl for him. This was _the_ girl. And so, he did the only thing he felt he honorably could. He told Emma he couldn’t date her without her father’s permission. 

To say Emma was not happy was an understatement. He did his best to explain to her why he felt that getting Jason’s permission was the only thing he could do. He must have laid it out well because when he was done Emma still wasn’t happy, but she understood. Although that didn’t stop her from telling him sarcastically as she hopped out of his truck that he should get in touch with her once he had his permission slip.

And that is what brought him to his current predicament, waiting to see if he could catch a moment with Jason alone. What the hell was Sonny talking so long about? Maybe, Clay thought, if I go sit with them, I can wait Sonny out. Clay decided to give it a shot. He rolled out of his hammock and headed over to Jason and Sonny. Grabbing a beer on the way, he settled on the equipment case next to Jason.

“Hey, kid,” Sonny greeted him. “Can’t sleep?”

“Something like that,” Clay replied.

“Need to get your beauty sleep, Clay.” Sonny told him. “I’m going to hit my hammock now so I can be ready for the ladies when we get home.”

Jason laughed. “I don’t think there are enough hours left in our flight, Sonny, to get you beautiful.”

“Hey, now,” Sonny answered. “There’s no call for that.” Then he toasted his beer can at Clay and Jason and headed to his hammock.

Clay watched Sonny walk away and realized now was his chance. He racked his brain trying to decide the best way to broach the subject with Jason. He kicked himself mentally for not having come up with an opener for this conversation. Why didn’t he think of what he wanted to say?

While Clay’s head spun with thoughts and possible ways to approach this. Jason sat quietly and looked at his rookie.

“Something on your mind, Clay?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, um,” Clay stumbled with his reply. Just say it, he thought. “Yeah, boss, I, um…” He took a deep breath, straightened his back and said it. “I would like your permission to date Emma.”

He exhaled a deep breath. There, I said it out loud, he thought.

“What!” Jason barked at him. 

“I would like your permission to date your daughter,” Clay repeated.

“Oh, I heard you,” Jason snapped. “I’m just wondering if this is a joke. Is Sonny behind a crate recording this, waiting to jump out, so you can all laugh at me?”

“No, boss, I’m serious,” Clay stated. “I want to date Emma.”

Jason didn’t say anything else. Clay could see Jason’s throat work as the older man swallowed hard, multiple times. Clay also noticed Jason’s hands clenching where they rested on the trunk. The tension between the two men grew as neither one spoke. Just when Clay decided he better say something to break the stalemate, Ray joined them.

“Everything okay here?” The 2IC said, breaking the moment. “Jase? Clay?”

“Okay?” Jason snorted. “Ask the kid here.”

“Clay, what’s up?” Ray asked.

“I just asked Jason for permission to date Emma.” Well, Clay thought, I’ve said it out loud enough times now that it’s a lot easier.

Ray’s eyes widened when he heard Clay’s answer, and he looked at Jason to see his team leader’s reaction. 

“I don’t even know what to say to this,” Jason said through gritted teeth. “How could you even think… This is my nineteen-year-old daughter.”

“She’s going to be twenty next week,” Clay pointed out.

Jason glared at him. “She is my little girl, and the thought that you would take advantage—”

Clay immediately cut Jason off. “I would never—”

“Who’s taking advantage?” Sonny’s voice cut Clay off. “Things seemed a might tense down here, so we thought we’d see what’s up.” 

Sonny, followed by Trent, Brock and even Cerberus, approached the three SEALS locked in their tense conversation. 

Great, Clay thought, it just needed this. What happened to my private discussion with Jason? I really didn’t need the entire team to be involved in this.

Jason continued as they had never been interrupted. “Take advantage of my daughter—”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Sonny interrupted again. “The kid here is taking advantage of little Emma?”

Now Clay was getting pissed. This was the second person who had accused him of taking advantage of Emma. “I would never take advantage of any woman, particularly Emma. And it’s pretty shitty that the men I fight with, that I think of as brothers, would even think that I would do something so low.”

Ray, ever the peacemaker, jumped in. “Now, brother, no one really thinks that. We’re all just surprised by this. None of us were aware that you and Emma even knew each other more than to just say hello at a team barbecue.”

Both Jason and Clay looked at Ray skeptically. Funny, Clay thought, it sure seemed like they believed it to him.

Jason blew out a loud breath and spoke. “Ray makes a good point. How is it that you even know my daughter well enough to know she wants to date you? I’m assuming she’s aware of your interest.”

“Of course, she is,” Clay replied. “You think I’d go through this on a whim?”

“At this point, Spenser, I have no idea what you’d do. Obviously.” Jason stated.

Ray jumped in again to get them back to the point. “Clay, tell us how it is that you and Emma got so friendly.”

Clay took a deep breath. He could do that. He focused solely on Ray as he spoke. He found it easier that way.

“Back in March, when I went to New York to visit my friend Mike—”

“The SEAL from team 2 who was injured in that ambush?” Trent cut in.

“Yes, him,” Clay replied. “He was rehabbing his shoulder and I went up to see him and give him some support. One day when I was in Manhattan, I bumped into Emma at a coffee shop. I mean, literally bumped into her. I made her spill half her drink. I bought her a new one, and we sat down and chatted while I grabbed some lunch. She told me about Tisch. I told her about Mike. It was nice.”

“And?” Sonny asked. “That can’t be it.”

“No,” Clay continued, “then Mike ended up being ordered out to Balboa early for more surgery and I didn’t feel right staying with his family after he left, so I went to change my train. I could only change it to Saturday night, so I had a free day on my own in New York. Emma and I met up and we went sightseeing together, the 9-11 Museum, Statue of Liberty, Central Park. That kind of thing. We had a lot of fun, and after that, I don’t know. I guess we were friends.”

“Friends,” Jason huffed.

“Yeah, friends,” Clay repeated. “So, then we would text, you know, nothing serious, just joking around, and talking sometimes. And then Emma came back to Virginia Beach and we just…”. Clay’s voice faded out as he wasn’t sure what to say about what had been happening since Emma had returned home.

“Why Emma?” Jason burst out. “Tell me that, why my daughter?”

Clay looked at Jason in surprise. Didn’t Jason know? This was his daughter after all.

“Emma…, I…,” Clay stopped. He gathered his thoughts, and then started speaking, more deliberately this time. “Emma is smart. She’s beautiful. She’s funny. She makes me laugh. She listens to me. She understands all this.” Clay figured he could go on and on about all the things that made Emma so perfect to him, but he didn’t think that would convince Jason. 

He took a deep breath and looked Jason Hayes straight in the eye. 

“If she were anyone else, anyone else, I would have already asked her out, and now I’d be spending my time convincing her I’m good enough for her to be with, which I’m not. But she’s not anyone else, she’s Emma Hayes. She’s your daughter, and I have too much respect for you to sneak around with her behind your back. And I have too much respect for Emma to ask her to keep secrets from you.”

Clay continued to look straight at Jason when he finished saying his piece. He wasn’t really sure what else he could say to convince his team leader.

Jason looked hard at him and said in a low voice, “And if I say no?” He paused and then continued. “If I say no, you can’t date her, and you need to stop this texting and talking and whatever else you’ve been doing? What then?”

Clay took a deep breath. Being denied permission was an outcome he had never imagined. Sure, he figured Jason would give him a hard time, but he had never let himself consider failure. What would he do?

“Then I’d stop.” Clay answered firmly, even though the idea of it broke his heart. “I’d have to tell her first. I couldn’t hurt her like that by just cutting her off, but then I’d stop. If that’s what you really wanted.” Clay hoped like hell that wasn’t what Jason wanted.

Jason looked away and blew out a big breath. No one else said anything, even Ray. The team all looked at Jason and waited for his response. Except Cerberus. Cerb pushed his way between Sonny and Trent to sit in front of Clay and place his head on Clay’s knee. Clay was happy he at least had Cerb’s support, even if he had no one else’s.

Jason rubbed his hands through his hair and turned to look at Clay. “Fine,” he spat out.

Clay’s eyes widened. Did that mean? “Fine, it’s okay if I—”

“Yes,” Jason ground out. “You can date her, if that’s what she wants.” Jason leaned in close to Clay and gave him a hard stare. “But hear this, if you hurt her, in any way, any way at all, I will end you. End you. Understood?”

“Understood.” Clay could hardly believe it.

Jason rose from the trunk he had been sitting on and stalked away. The rest of the team with the exception of Ray and Cerberus followed him. Ray sat down on the trunk in Jason’s place. Clay barely noticed he was so astounded by how things had turned out. He continued to scratch Cerb behind the ears, and a smile slowly broke out on his face. He had permission to date Emma. He wished he could call her right now. As soon as they were on the ground he would.

Ray broke into Clay’s tumbling thoughts. “You look like you can’t believe your luck,” Ray said with a smile.

Clay grinned at Ray. “I can’t. I really thought for a minute there that he was going to say no.”

“You were pretty convincing there though,” Ray stated.

“I meant it all. I wasn’t saying it just to be convincing,” Clay said.

“I know, brother,” Ray replied. “That’s why it was convincing. When you said the part about Emma being smart and beautiful, it was obvious you really felt that way. That’s what convinced me you were serious, and I know it’s what convinced Jason.”

Clay blushed a little. He hadn’t meant to wear his heart on his sleeve, but he hadn’t known of any other way to show Jason how serious he was about this.

“Nothing to be ashamed of,” Ray added. “I’m a father and when my girl is old enough, which won’t be until she’s forty, at least, I hope that the man she’s with believes those things about her. That he feels like that for her.”

Ray got up, but before he walked away, he clapped Clay on the shoulder. “One other thing, Clay, don’t ever think you’re not good enough for anyone. You are.” Then he headed off toward his hammock.

Clay smiled wider as he looked down at Cerberus. “What do you say, boy? I have a date to plan.” 

Cerb hopped up and placed his front legs on Clay’s shoulders and licked his face. Clay grabbed one of Cerb’s toys that had been abandoned nearby and tossed it down towards where Brock was sitting. Cerb chased away after it, and Clay got up and headed for his hammock. He only had about an hour left in this flight to figure out where he should take Emma for their first official date. He lay back down in his hammock and began rocking it gently while he made his plans.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma stood in front of the tiny closet in her room. She was lucky she wasn’t sharing the room, because there was no way two women would have enough space for all their clothes in this closet and the bureaus provided. She slowly pushed her available clothing options along the rod as she debated what to wear for her first official date with Clay tomorrow night. She really only had two possibilities. One was a blue dress that she thought was much too formal. The other was a yellow dress that she had bought when she was shopping with her friend Anna at Century 21 in New York back in April. At the time Emma had been hesitant to purchase the dress as she wasn’t really sure she would have anywhere to wear it, but the halter top of the dress was especially flattering to her cleavage without being too risqué and she loved the swingy skirt. When she was a little girl, she had had a dress that she called her “twirly dress” that she had loved to spin around in, making the skirt spin out. The skirt of this dress reminded her of that, but in a much more sophisticated style. Possibly this dress would be a little too dressy for their date, but Emma had the impression that Clay was planning something more than a meal at a casual restaurant.

Clay hadn’t actually given her many details about their date, but Emma wondered if maybe that was because he didn’t really have a lot of time to plan it. Yesterday morning she had received a text from Clay saying that the team had touched down from their latest mission with everyone in good shape and that her father had given his permission for Clay to date Emma. She was still a little surprised by that. She had been sure that her father would tell Clay in no uncertain terms that there would be no dating between his rookie and his daughter. She definitely needed to get more details from Clay on how that conversation went down.

Emma had been standing in the linen room of the hotel when the text came through. As she stood there, a little shocked that her father had actually said it was okay for her and Clay to date, her phone rang. Clay’s name came up on her caller ID. Looking around to make sure no one else was there, Emma answered the call.

“Hi, Clay,” she answered the phone happily.

“Hi, beautiful,” he responded. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

Emma was a little surprised at Clay’s endearment, as he had been more formal with her since she had returned to Virginia Beach. Well, she thought, until he kissed her after their trip to the beach.

“Only a minute,” she replied. “I’m at work and I need to get back to the front desk.”

“I’ll be quick,” Clay said. “Emma Hayes, will you go out with me on Saturday night?”

Emma felt a little burst of happiness. He was really asking her out, for a real date. She had the worst urge to giggle. She was also tempted to tease him and say that since it was already Thursday, she really couldn’t accept a date for Saturday night, but she decided that wouldn’t be fair since he had actually asked her father’s permission for this. She also felt she should still be annoyed about the whole father’s permission thing, but she was working on letting that go.

“Clay Spenser,” she responded, sounding just a little giddy, “I would love to go out with you on Saturday night.”

“Great,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty, if that works for you.”

“That’s fine,” Emma said. “I’ll see you then.”

“Great,” Clay said again. “Um, I should go. Gear and AARs to deal with.”

“Okay,” she said. “Bye, Clay.”

“Bye, Emma,” he replied and ended the call.

As soon as Clay had ended the call, Emma hugged herself and squealed quietly. She was going on a date with Clay Spenser. She really wanted to call Hannah right then and tell her, but she couldn’t be away from the front desk any longer. There was one thing she needed to do though. She opened a new text message to her Dad on her phone. She typed, “Thank you, Daddy,” and hit send. Then she left the linen room and headed back to the hotel lobby. That Thursday had ended up being a very long workday.

Now standing in front of her closet, she decided it was definitely the yellow dress. Always better to be overdressed than underdressed, she thought. She just needed the right shoes. She started digging through the pile on the floor of the closet, looking for a pair of strappy, natural colored heels that she was sure she had brought back with her from school.

Her phone rang as she finally pulled the shoes out from the back of the closet. She stood and grabbed the phone from her bed. Her caller ID showed the goofy picture she had taken of her Dad.

“Hi, Dad,” she answered.

“Emma,” her father replied, “are you free to grab dinner with your old man this evening?”

“Tonight?” Emma stalled. She wasn’t sure dinner with him would be a good idea. He was probably asking her to an inquisition and not dinner.

“Yes, this evening generally means tonight,” Jason stated patiently.

“Um, okay, I guess,” she answered hesitantly.

“Good, let’s meet at the Mexican place on Holland Road,” he suggested. “Does six work for you, kiddo?”

Emma glanced at the time. It was a little after five, giving her enough time to change and drive over there.

“Sure, Dad,” she replied.

“I’ll see you in a bit, then,” he said and ended the call.

Emma frowned as she dropped the phone back on her bed. There was no way this dinner wasn’t going to be about Clay wanting to date her. She sighed and grabbed some clothes to change into. She needed to get moving if she wanted to meet her father on time.

***********************

Jason walked into the Mexican restaurant a little before six o’clock. His daughter hadn’t arrived yet, but the hostess was willing to seat him at a table. He sat down and ordered a beer while he waited for Emma.

Just as the waitress delivered his beer, he saw his daughter walk into the restaurant. She didn’t see him at first and she stood by the hostess stand looking around for him. His eyes narrowed as he saw two men at a nearby table checking his daughter out. Both of them had to be in their thirties, much too old for his little girl. 

Of course, that was the problem, Emma wasn’t a little girl anymore. Not that she should be dating men in their thirties, but Spenser was in his twenties and closer in age to Emma than to Jason himself. The fact was that he didn’t really want Emma dating anyone. In his mind she was still the little girl who had clung to his hand on the first day of school, afraid to be left there with children she didn’t know. 

He still remembered the day Alana had placed Emma in his arms. He had been deployed when she was born, so he didn’t see her until she was a month old. She was so tiny to him and he had been afraid he would hurt her, but then she had opened her eyes and looked up at him and that was it, she had his whole heart.

He started to stand to catch Emma’s attention when she saw him and headed towards the table.

“Hi, Dad,” she said as she approached the table.

He stepped forward and gave Emma a hug as she greeted him. “Hey, kiddo.”

They sat down, and Jason looked closely at Emma, who seemed to be avoiding meeting his gaze.

“I’m glad you could make it,” he said as he watched his daughter busy herself with her menu. He decided to let her relax a little before he said anything else and picked up his own menu.

After a few minutes had gone by, Jason spoke. “Know what you’re ordering?” He asked.

“I think the enchiladas,” Emma replied. “How about you?”

“Taco sampler,” he stated.

“That’s what you always get,” his daughter said, finally looking up at him.

“I know what I like,” he said with a little smirk.

Before either of them could say anything else, the waitress arrived at their table with a basket of chips and a small bowl of salsa.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” The woman asked Emma.

“I’ll have a Sprite,” Emma answered.

“I think we’re ready to order,” Jason told the waitress before she could leave with just Emma’s drink order.

They gave the woman their food orders and then began eating the chips and salsa.

“So,” Jason began, breaking the silence between them, “I had an interesting conversation on the plane coming home yesterday.”

His daughter gave him a wary look. She swallowed the chip she had been chewing and spoke. “I know,” she said cautiously.

“I figured you did,” he said, “considering the text message you sent me.”

Emma blushed a little at his mention of her text.

“Was that your idea?” He asked curiously.

“Asking you for permission?” She questioned. 

He nodded.

“Oh no,” she stated, “that was all Clay.”

He nodded again. “Why were you keeping it a secret that the two of you spent time together in New York when he was there?”

“I wasn’t,” Emma replied, giving him a smug look. “I told you about it back in March when it happened.”

He frowned. Had she told him that?

“You don’t remember,” she accused him. “You weren’t paying attention when I told you about it.”

“Of course, I was paying attention,” he maintained. “I always pay attention when you tell me things.”

“Oh, so you just don’t remember them,” Emma said pointedly.

“I remember,” he defended himself, “maybe just not right away.”

“Uh huh,” she replied skeptically.

“That’s not the point,” he said. “The point is why didn’t you let me know something was going on with you and Spenser?”

“Because,” Emma explained, “I didn’t know that anything was going on.”

Jason gave his daughter a disbelieving look.

“I didn’t,” she insisted. “I mean, we had a lot of fun that day and I thought he was a good guy. And, of course, he’s good looking, but he’s on your team and I didn’t think he’d be interested in me. But then, I don’t know, we were friends, I guess, and we texted, and he got my sense of humor, and then I thought, maybe, it _was_ more. But when I came back to Virginia, it seemed like it wasn’t more and I was wrong, then we went to the beach one day and he… well, that’s when he said he had to get your permission.”

Emma finally stopped to take a breath, and he considered the rambling speech she had just made. The main points he took from her words were that she and Clay had become friends, which tallied with what Clay had said yesterday, and that she didn’t initially think anything was going on between the two of them. Although he couldn’t decide if she thought nothing was happening between them because she didn’t think Clay would be interested in her or if she hadn’t been interested in Clay at first. He also wondered exactly what had happened at the beach.

“Okay, I get that there wasn’t anything specific to tell me at first, but Emma, this isn’t a little thing, you dating someone on my team,” he explained.

“I know, Dad,” she answered in a small voice. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, but then it did, and you told Clay it was okay.”

“I did, but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned,” he said. “Besides the team, he is almost seven years older than you.”

“I know that too,” she said, “but being the same age as me doesn’t make a guy a good person to date.”

“I agree age isn’t the only thing, but you haven’t met one guy at school that you could date?” He asked with a sigh.

Emma gave a dry laugh. “Let’s see, one guy I went out with turned out to be gay. Although we are friends now. Another guy I went out with seemed to think buying popcorn for me at the movies meant I should hop into bed with him after.”

“What!” Jason exclaimed. 

“Don’t worry, Dad,” she reassured him. “I set him straight, and if he didn’t take no for an answer, I was ready to break his hold with that move Uncle Sonny taught me and then knee him in the groin.”

“That’s my girl,” he said proudly.

“But you see what I’m working with here, Dad?” Emma continued. “And look at Hannah! She’s been strung along by that jerk she met at UVA, and he treats her like crap. I can’t seem to convince her that he’s no good. He’s our age.”

Jason frowned. He had heard something from a worried Victoria about what was going on with Hannah. Before he could reply, Emma spoke again.

“Clay’s not like that, Dad,” she said quietly.

He exhaled slowly. Emma had hit on one of the main reasons he had agreed to letting Clay date her. Clay Spenser was a good man. Yeah, he could be a cocky little shit on the job sometimes, but he wasn’t a womanizer and, from what Jason had seen when Clay was with Stella, he treated the women he dated well. 

Also, Jason grudgingly admitted to himself, he respected Clay for asking for permission to date Emma. Asking couldn’t have been easy, particularly when the rest of the team joined the conversation. But, even with the other guys standing there, Clay had looked Jason in the eye and told him what it was about Emma that made Clay want to date her. Jason couldn’t fault the man’s taste. Emma was all the things Clay had mentioned and more.

Jason’s biggest reason for saying yes to them dating though was that he was afraid if he said no, they would each find the other more attractive because then they would be even more forbidden fruit than they already were. He hoped that by saying yes to them, the pair would date, get it out of their systems and move on. He didn’t plan on sharing that with Emma though.

“No,” he agreed, “Clay isn’t like that.”

Before either of them could say anything else, the waitress returned with their meals. She set them down on the table in front of them, asked if they needed anything else, and then left them to eat their food.

Silence reigned at their table as they both enjoyed their food. Jason debated what else either one of them could say that would allay his fears about this whole Emma and Clay dating situation. Times like these made him miss Alana even more. He couldn’t help but believe she would have known how to handle this so much better than him.

The waitress came by to check on them and he asked for the bill. She returned and left the check on the table. He pulled out his wallet and took out enough cash to cover the meal and a tip. As he did so, he watched his daughter push the remains of her enchiladas around on her plate.

“Emma,” he said, waiting for her to look up at him. Once she met his gaze, he spoke again. “I’m your Dad. I worry about you. Someday you’ll be forty years old with kids and I’ll still worry about you.”

Emma smiled at his words.

“But right now,” he continued, “you’re turning twenty and you want to date a man who’s almost seven years older than you, with a lot more life experience, so yeah, I’m worried that you could get hurt.”

Emma nodded. “I know, Daddy,” she said softly.

“Okay,” he said, “I’ll leave it at that. I told Clay it was okay, and I’m not going to go back on that. But please keep in mind that I am much too young to be a grandfather.”

“Oh my God! Dad! I can’t believe you just said that,” Emma exclaimed in horror. “Way to ruin a moment.”

Ignoring his daughter’s embarrassment, he kept going. “I know you’re a big girl, off at school, taking care of yourself, but I want you to remember that being responsible is an important part of—”

“Stop! Just stop!” Emma cut him off. “Mom gave me the whole talk years ago. I don’t need you to repeat it now.”

And thank God Alana had, because he didn’t think he could have said much more. It was bad enough that he had to have the talk with Mikey but going through it with Emma was too much for him.

“Okay,” he agreed. “Are you done with your dinner? We should probably let them have the table if you are.”

“I’m good,” she replied.

They both stood and started to walk towards the exit. Jason sent a hard look at the two men sitting nearby, who were checking out his daughter again. Both sets of eyes dropped back to their table and he smiled in satisfaction.

As they exited the restaurant he turned to Emma. “I’m going over to your Uncle Ray and Aunt Naima’s tomorrow for a barbecue. Do you want to join us?  
  


“I’m working tomorrow until four,” Emma replied. The she added shyly, “After I, um, have a date with Clay.”

“Okay,” he said. “We’re still on for your birthday dinner on Thursday though, right? I’m going to pick Mikey up from his hockey camp to join us.”

“Definitely,” she answered happily. “Birthday dinner at Lorenzo’s, I can’t wait.”

Jason smiled at her excitement. “Alright then, we’ll talk before then.”

Emma smiled and gave him a hug. “Thanks for dinner, Dad”

“You’re welcome, kiddo,” he replied, giving her a kiss on the top of the head.

They parted, and he watched her head to her car. She turned and waved as she got in and drove away.

Jason sighed as he watched her go. Life would certainly be easier if your kids didn’t grow up so fast.

*****************

Emma thought work was never going to end on Saturday. At least Saturdays were usually busy because there was a lot of turnover in the hotel. People were checking out at the end of their week at the beach or checking in to start it. All the comings and goings kept her occupied at the desk most of the time, but there was just enough downtime for her to check the clock way too many times.

Finally, it was four o’clock and she was done. She rushed back to her room, so she could get ready. The yellow dress was hanging on her closet door with the shoes sitting on the floor below it. She took a quick shower, washing her hair, and then smoothed on her vanilla scented body lotion. She dried her hair and put it up, leaving some tendrils hanging down. She curled those just a little, and then did her make-up. She checked the time and saw that she still had twenty minutes before Clay’s arrival. She worried that he might be early though, so she slipped on the dress then put on a pair of sparkly earrings and a bangle bracelet. Then she grabbed the shoes and put them on. Once she had the straps straightened out, she went into the bathroom and tried to see the whole effect in the little mirror over the sink.

Just as she was giving up on being able to check out her entire look, she heard a knock at her door. All of a sudden there were a ton of butterflies in her stomach. She took a deep breath and then called out asking who was there.

“It’s Clay.” She heard him say through the door.

She walked slowly to the door, took another deep breath, and opened it. 

*****************

Clay stood waiting for Emma to open the door. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this anxious before a date. Slowly the door opened and there she was. She was beautiful standing there in a pretty yellow dress that tied around her neck. She had her hair up in some kind of complicated twist thing that women always seemed to know how to do. He really wanted to kiss her now but thought that since it was technically their first date he should probably wait until the end of the evening for that.

“Hi,” Emma said softly.

“Hi,” he replied. “I, um, brought these for you,” he said nervously, holding out a small bouquet of flowers. “They have their own little vase because I thought you might not have anything to put them in.”

Her face lit up with a smile and she took the flowers from him. “They’re beautiful. Thank you. And you’re right, I don’t have anything to put them in.”

She tilted her head down to smell the flowers. “They smell good. Let me just put them over here and we can go,” she said as she placed the vase on the table by her bed. Then she picked up her purse and a light wrap from the bed and turned to him to leave.

They both stepped out into the hall and Emma shut and locked the door. Clay placed his hand lightly on the small of her back as he guided her down the hall and out the main door into the summer evening. He kept his hand from rising up any higher once he realized the dress left most of Emma’s back bare. 

They walked over to his truck and he opened the passenger door for her. He held out his hand to help her step up on the running board in her heels. She sat and then shifted her legs into the truck. He noticed how the high heels she was wearing made her already great legs look even better. He groaned to himself as he realized that in some ways this was going to be a long evening for him.

Clay walked around the truck to the driver’s side and got in. He settled into his seat and started the engine.

“How was your day?” He asked.

“It was good,” Emma replied. “Saturdays are busy at the hotel. How about you? What did you do today?”

“Mostly chores,” he answered. “I needed to do laundry and get groceries. I had no food in my apartment.”

Emma nodded. “I had dinner last night with my Dad,” she stated bluntly.

Clay glanced quickly at her and then back at the road. “How did that go?” She didn’t sound upset, he thought.

“You know he totally didn’t remember that I told him about us hanging out when you were in New York City last March?” She laughed lightly.

Clay shook his head. “I was wondering about that. When I spoke to him, he acted like the most we had ever done was say hello to each other.”

“What did he say?” Emma asked. “I still can’t believe he said yes. I was sure he would chew you out, say no, and make your life miserable.”

“He didn’t chew me out exactly,” Clay answered slowly. “It was, uh, a little tense and the guys all noticed that and came to see what was going on.”

“Wait,” she said with dismay, “Uncle Sonny, Uncle Ray and all the others were there too?”

“Yeah,” he said apologetically. “So, I had to explain to them all how it was that we had become so friendly and why I wanted to date you.”

“Oh God,” Emma breathed.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Clay said to reassure her. “And then he said okay and so far, he hasn’t made my life miserable.”

“There’s still time for that,” she pointed out.

He grinned. “I suppose, but I figure I’ll just make you happy enough that he won’t need to make my life miserable.”

Emma laughed. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

*********************

After their conversation about Clay’s talk with her Dad, it had been quiet in the truck. They drove that way for a while when Emma decided to break the silence. 

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“Stanton House,” he replied.

Emma raised her eyebrows a little in surprise. Stanton House was an old mansion that had been converted into a restaurant. The house sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean and people went for special occasions. She had never been there, but she heard that the view from the dining area on the terrace was fantastic.

“Have you ever been?” Clay asked.

“No,” Emma replied. “I’ve heard it’s really beautiful.”

Clay turned the truck onto a side road that had a discreet sign for the restaurant. They drove down a narrow lane that had trees growing high on each side. Then, just after a bend in the way, the truck came out into an open area for parking in front of the house. Everything looked beautiful in the early evening light.

Clay parked the truck and came around to her side and opened the door. He took her hand as he helped her out of the truck, and as they began walking across the parking area to the house, he continued to hold on to it. Emma smiled to herself as she thought how romantic it all seemed.

“I hope you like it,” Clay said, breaking into her thoughts. “I couldn’t find a restaurant that had a lot of good tofu dishes,” he added with a teasing smile.

Emma laughed. “Oh well,” she said, “maybe they’ll have steak tips.”

Clay grinned at her. “Maybe.”

They walked up the front steps and Clay opened the front door for them to enter. Through the door was a large open area where the maître d was standing at a desk.

“Good Evening, may I help you?” He asked.

“Reservation for Spenser,” Clay replied.

“Yes, I have you on the Terrace, if that is acceptable for the lady,” the maître d said.

Emma assumed that if she thought she wouldn’t like the terrace, maybe if she was chilly, because she couldn’t think of another reason not to like the terrace, he would seat them somewhere else.

“The Terrace sounds good,” Emma stated.

The maître d caught the eye of a younger man standing by a side door, and he approached.

“Stephen will show you to your table.”

Clay thanked the maître d and he and Emma followed Stephen through another door and out to the Terrace. The Terrace had a good number of occupied tables, but they weren’t positioned too close together, so it gave the effect of not being too crowded. Stephen led them to a table closer to the edge of the Terrace where they had a good view over the cliff to the ocean. The young man held out a chair for Emma and she draped her wrap over the back and sat down, while Clay seated himself in the chair opposite.

“Your waiter will be with you momentarily,” Stephen said and then withdrew.

“Clay,” Emma said quietly, “this is really beautiful.”

“I wanted to do something special for our first date,” he said with a sweet smile.

She smiled back at him, but before either of them could say anything else, the waiter arrived at their table.

“Good evening and welcome to Stanton House. May I share the specials for this evening?”

Clay and Emma nodded, and the waiter told them what the specials were and took their drink orders. Emma asked for a seltzer with lime and Clay ordered the same.

“You know,” Emma said after the waiter left them to look at their menus, “just because they won’t serve me alcohol doesn’t mean you can’t have any.”

“I appreciate that, Em,” Clay said, “but this is a little fancy for a beer and if I’m going to have wine, I’d rather enjoy it with you.”

“Okay,” she agreed, “but don’t ever not have something because of me.”

“I won’t,” he said. “I promise.”

Emma nodded and they both began reading their menus. 

******************

Eventually the waiter came and took their order and they settled into an enjoyable conversation. Their chat was interspersed with joking and laughter, and Clay wondered why he had been so anxious at the beginning of the evening. Being with Emma was easy and fun, and they always seemed to have something to talk about. 

Then Emma leaned a little forward as she laughed at something, and he had a reminder of a reason why he might have been anxious earlier. He was seriously attracted to her. The ties on Emma’s dress around her neck lifted up her breasts, emphasizing her cleavage, and gave him a very tempting view. Eyes up, Spenser, he thought, don’t be an asshole.

He took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on their conversation.

“Okay,” he said, “let me get this straight. Your best friend here in Virginia is Hannah, but your roommate this fall at NYU is Anna, and you’re Emma.”

“Uh huh,” she agreed.

“So, Hannah, Anna and Emma,” he teased. “You need to get some more vowels in there.”

“I know,” she laughed, “but I didn’t plan it. It just worked out that way.”

“Is Anna in music with you?” he asked.

“No,” Emma answered. “She’s in Tisch School of the Arts, but she’s in the Film program. We met because she lived on the same floor as me in our dorm.”

“Oh yes,” Clay smiled, “the women’s only floor of the dorm.”

“I can’t believe you remember that!” Emma said with a chuckle.

“Hey,” Clay said with a teasing smile, “I’m still imagining the pillow fights.”

They laughed together as the waiter delivered their meals.

After they enjoyed their dinners, they shared a chocolate dessert. The waiter brought the check and Clay paid.

“Ready to go?” He asked Emma.

“I am,” she replied. “Clay, thank you for such a great meal. I really enjoyed it.”

“I’m glad,” he said, as they left their table and headed across the terrace to leave.

Clay had really enjoyed their time together at dinner and didn’t want the evening to end just yet. 

“Do you want to go walk on the beach?” He asked as they left the restaurant.

“I’d like that,” Emma replied.

********************

Emma watched Clay as he drove the truck down the highway to the beach. She felt as if it was finally okay for her to look at him and think about how attractive she found him. Just before the semester ended, she had thought maybe Clay was interested in her and she started to let herself think about how good-looking he was, but then when she got back to Virginia, she decided she was wrong. He talked to her less and even though they were in the same town, they rarely met up. She was more likely to message with him when he was on an op than when he was at home. She concluded that she had been reading too much into the situation and did her best to not think about being attracted to him, which was easier said than done. Then he kissed her, and she realized she wasn’t wrong, he was just keeping his distance because of her father.

She thought it was funny how your opinion of someone could change. She remembered when Clay joined Bravo Team back when she was still in high school. Hannah had giggled about how cute she thought he was, and Emma remembered noticing in a detached way that he was handsome, but she had thought of him like Uncle Sonny or Uncle Brock, just one of her father’s guys. She had been busy at the time chasing after Julian, who she had been sure was going to be her boyfriend.

That day in the coffee shop in Manhattan she hadn’t even realized it was Clay at first. She was so embarrassed about walking into a good-looking guy with her hot drink, that she barely looked up while she was wiping the spilled drink off her sleeve. She had been dismayed when she realized it was Clay Spenser that she had been admiring. Then he was so nice and fun, and they had such a good time when she took him around the City that she had thought it was too bad he was on her father’s team. She still remembered how sweet he had been when she got all emotional at the 9-11 Memorial.

Then as they began texting and eventually talking on the phone, she really liked that he seemed to appreciate her sense of humor. Not everyone did. But, instead of being annoyed by her being a bit of a smartass, she couldn’t help it considering who her Dad was, he found it funny and teased her back.

When she spoke to him on the phone that first time after he had been on that op with the children and the college girls, was when she first thought that maybe there was more going on than just friendship between them. Or maybe she just hoped there was more. The little shiver of pleasure his voice had given her when he wished her sweet dreams when he ended the call had kept her awake for a while.

She had been disappointed when she returned to Virginia and it seemed like she was wrong, and they were only friends. Not that having Clay Spenser as a friend was bad. He had been so helpful that night Hannah had gotten drunk at the bar on the strip that didn’t card. 

Underneath though there had been a little part of Emma that wished they could be more than friends. Then they went to the beach that day. When she turned to him in the truck and he had reached out and pushed her hair behind her ear, she felt like she could hardly breathe. Then when he kissed her, she felt like she had been struck by lightning.

Then he ended the kiss, and she could hardly believe it had happened. She thought he looked a little shocked too. Then she came to Earth with a thud when he said he’d have to ask her father’s permission before they could date. She did understand why Clay had felt he needed to talk to her Dad about it before they dated, but it still annoyed her, and she figured her father would never say yes. She had been a little mean when she got out of the truck and told Clay to call her when he got his permission slip.

Now here they were on an actual date though, and it was okay for her to think about how handsome she thought he was. She also hoped he’d kiss her again soon because she needed to know if it really had been that great, or was she just building the kiss up in her memory.

Clay noticed her watching him. “What?” He asked. “Do I have chocolate on my face or something?”

“No,” Emma replied. “Just thinking.”

“Hmm,” he responded. “Should I be worried?”

She smiled. “Not yet.”

He grinned. “I may be anyway,” he said as he pulled the truck into a parking space near the sand.

Emma smiled and reached down to pull off her shoes. Clay did the same with his shoes and socks and then he rolled up the ends of his pants.

“I still have the blanket in the bin in back,” Clay said. “I can grab it and we can sit too if you want.”

“Sure,” she replied. “That would be nice.”

Emma hopped out of the truck before Clay could come around to her side. He grabbed the blanket out of the storage bin, and they walked together onto the sand. Clay left the blanket on the sand where it was dry and caught her hand in his. They walked down to where the tide was breaking on the shore.

“You can never see this many stars in New York,” Emma said quietly.

“When I was growing up in Africa,” Clay said, “my grandfather would point out the constellations to me. You can see even more stars there because there’s less light pollution.”

“That must have been beautiful,” Emma said wistfully.

“It was,” he replied, tugging on her hand so that she turned to face him.

As Emma looked up at Clay, he leaned down and kissed her. He slipped his arms around her and held her close, as their kiss gained in intensity. 

Clay broke off the kiss and Emma smiled up at him. That was even better than she remembered their first kiss. Then in the cool evening breeze she shivered. After dragging that wrap around all evening, she had left it in the truck when she finally needed it.

“Here,” Clay said, “let’s go sit and I’ll keep you warm.”

They walked back to the blanket and Clay spread it out on the sand. Emma sat down and Clay sat behind her so that she was between his knees and his upper body blocked the breeze from her a little. Clay then put his arms around her and held her close to him.

“Is that better?” He asked.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Clay nuzzled at her neck just above the ties of her dress. She shivered again, but this time it wasn’t the cool breeze that caused it.

“I like this dress,” he told her. “You look beautiful in it.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“But then,” he said near her ear, “I think you look beautiful in anything.”

Emma bit her lip. She was feeling a little overwhelmed by everything right now. Sitting here with Clay’s arms around her and his breath tickling her neck had put her senses on overload. She didn’t think she had ever been this attracted to anyone before. She felt like it was important to tell Clay now, before things became more serious, that she had never had sex before. 

“Clay?”

“Hmmm,” he answered her.

“I, you should know that I, well…,” she began slowly. She wasn’t embarrassed to talk about sex, alright maybe she was a little, but it _was_ embarrassing to admit that at twenty, in less than a week anyway, she was still a virgin. “…Just that I’ve never actually, uh, had sex before,” she finished in a rush. She held her breath as she waited to hear his response.

***************

Clay was happy to be sitting on the beach with Emma in his arms. He had had a great time with her at dinner, and the kiss they had just shared had been even better than the one after they spent the day at the beach. The warm skin of her neck was tempting, and he really wanted to start kissing her there, but it was their first real date and he didn’t want to get carried away.

Emma said his name, breaking into his contemplation of how good she smelled. He wasn’t quite sure what the scent was, but he liked it. Maybe it was just Emma.

He realized she sounded a little nervous as she spoke, and then as he listened it dawned on him what she was trying to say. Emma was a virgin. 

He hadn’t been expecting that at all. Not that he had given it a lot of thought, because really, he didn’t want to think about Emma with anyone else. He had just assumed that at some point she had been. But she hadn’t and he realized that this would make anything physical happening in their relationship kind of a big deal.

Emma was sitting stiffly now in his arms and he knew he needed to say something to reassure her. He really didn’t want to screw this up.

He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I wasn’t expecting that, Em,” he said choosing his words carefully, “but it’s not a bad thing.”

Emma snorted. “Trust me, at school this year, sometimes it did seem like a bad thing. People at school could be very casual about hopping into bed with other people.”

“Not easy to be casual about it when it’s your first time though, I guess,” Clay stated.

“No,” she agreed. “I mean, there was a guy when I was in high school and I thought he…” Her voice trailed off and then she laughed. “I thought he was going to be the love of my life. Isn’t that what you think in high school?”

“Yeah, sometimes,” Clay agreed. “Did he turn out to be a jerk?”

“I think he may have been one,” Emma replied thoughtfully, “but I didn’t get a chance to find out because, you know, my Mom died, and I didn’t really care so much anymore.”

Once she mentioned her mother the situation made a lot of sense to Clay. He understood how a loss like that could put everything else in your life on hold. Also, he admitted to himself, he was glad that Emma hadn’t been treated poorly by some jerk who probably would have made her first time a bad experience.

“But,” Emma continued, “I know you have—”

“Yeah,” he agreed before she could say any more, “I have, but I also have some control, Emma. I didn’t want to date you just so I could take you to bed.”

She nodded. “But if you wanted to be with someone else because I—”

“Em,” he interjected, “there’s no one else I want to be with, in any way, just you. Is there someone else you want to go out with?”

“Oh no,” she turned in his arms so she could see his face, “there’s no one else.” She smiled shyly. “Just you.”

He smiled back and gently kissed her. “Good,” he said. “Then we’re dating each other and no one else. And as for the physical stuff, there’s no rush. We’ll go at your pace and if anything makes you feel uncomfortable, just tell me and we’ll stop. Okay?”

“Okay,” Emma agreed. Then she shivered again as the breeze off the water picked up.

“You’re freezing, Emma,” Clay said. “We should go.”

Emma sighed. “I guess we should,” she said a little sadly.

They headed back to the truck with the blanket. Once they reached the truck, Clay tossed the blanket in the back and dug around the storage bin until he found a towel.

“Here,” he said, “you can use this to wipe the sand off your feet. I promise that’s all it’s been used for.”

“Thanks,” Emma said. She perched on the edge of her seat with her legs out the truck door and wiped the sand away. Then she passed the towel to Clay so he could do the same.

Once they each were done with the towel, Clay tossed it back in the bin and added the blanket on top. He seated himself back in the truck and started it up.

He turned to Emma before he put the truck in gear. “I had a great time tonight, Em,” he said with a smile.

“I did too,” she replied, returning his smile.

They both were quiet on the drive back to the hotel. Once they arrived, Clay parked near the entrance to the employee quarters and got out to open Emma’s door. He helped her down from the truck and walked with her to the main entrance and inside.

“Do you want to come in?” Emma asked as they headed down the hall to her room.

Yes, Clay thought, I would love to come in, but he realized he better not. Even before he knew Emma was a virgin, he had been trying to take this slow, but now he thought it would be better if he backed off a little.

“I better not,” he replied.

Emma nodded and turned to unlock the door to her room. Clay looked down at her bare back. He was tempted to run his finger down her spine and feel her soft skin. He took a deep breath and made himself look somewhere else. She opened the door and turned back to face Clay.

“Goodnight, Clay,” she said. “Thank you for a wonderful time.”

Clay put his hand on her cheek and leaned down and kissed her. When he broke off the kiss, he smiled at Emma’s slightly dazed expression.

“Goodnight, Emma,” he said softly. “Sweet dreams.”

Emma smiled and slipped into her room, closing the door behind her. Clay waited until he heard the door lock and then he headed back out to his truck. As he walked, he discreetly tried to adjust his pants. He sighed, realizing that as much as he enjoyed spending time with Emma, he was in for some difficult moments this summer, but he thought they would be more than worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place a few weeks after Emma & Clay start dating.

Emma hummed to herself quietly as she went through the listings for today’s check-ins on the hotel reservation database. Since it was a Tuesday there wouldn’t be a lot of guest turnover at the hotel that day. She sent the final list document to the printer and then waited for the machine to spit out the pages. As she waited, she saw her cell phone on the desk flashing with a call.

“Hey, Casey,” she called out to her co-worker in the office. “I just printed today’s check-in list. I’m going to take a break. Can you watch the desk?”

Casey stuck her head out the door while still talking to a potential guest on the phone and waved to Emma that she could go. Emma grabbed her phone and slipped out the front door of the hotel. She walked around the side of the building, heading towards a landscaped area with benches that looked out at the ocean. As she walked, Emma checked her phone to see who had called.

There was a message from Aunt Naima in her voice mail. Instead of listening to the message, Emma hit the call back option. She settled herself on one of the benches as she listened to the phone ring.

“Hi, Emma,” Naima answered the call. 

“Hi, Aunt Naima,” Emma replied. “You called me?”

“Yes, sweetie, do you have a minute to chat?” Naima asked.

“Sure, I’m on a break, so I have a few minutes,” Emma responded.

“Good, I called to invite you and Clay to dinner over here with me and your Uncle Ray,” Naima explained. “I was thinking Friday night, assuming the team isn’t spun up.”

“You’re inviting me and Clay to dinner?” Emma asked curiously. She wasn’t sure what to make of this invitation from Aunt Naima. Emma knew logically that at this point everyone, and by everyone she meant all of Bravo Team, their support staff, and their wives, girlfriends and families, had heard that she and Clay were dating. Emma found the idea of all of these people knowing her business slightly embarrassing.

“Yes, do you think Friday will work?” Naima responded.

Emma thought for a moment. She was free Friday night, but she wasn’t sure what Clay had planned, if anything. “It works for me, but I have to check with Clay and see what he has going on.”

“Why don’t you check in with him and get back to me in the next day or so then?” Naima suggested.

“Okay,” Emma replied. She hesitated a moment and then asked, “Aunt Naima, I don’t mean to be rude, but could I ask why you’re inviting us to dinner?”

Naima laughed lightly, “Emma, because that’s what we do. When one of the single guys on the team starts dating someone and it seems to be getting serious, we invite them to dinner so we can check her out.”

At Naima’s answer, a bunch of thoughts ricocheted through Emma’s mind. The first was a fleeting memory of her own mother laughing on the phone with someone while discussing a woman Uncle Sonny had brought to dinner at their house. I forgot that, Emma thought, Mom used to have guys from Bravo with their latest girlfriends over for dinner a lot. Before she could think too much about that though a more thrilling, if slightly nerve-wracking, idea slipped into her brain. Aunt Naima thought Emma and Clay were getting serious.

Emma pushed that thought aside for future consideration. “But, Aunt Naima, you already know me. You don’t need to check me out.”

“I know, sweetie,” Naima replied. “But I think it’s a good idea to treat this just like any of the other guys’ relationships. Also, I want everyone to see that your Uncle Ray and I have no problem with the two of you together.”

Emma frowned. “Are there people who do have a problem with me and Clay together?”

Naima sighed. “No, I think it’s more of a situation that there’s been a little talk, and I want to help quiet that down by showing that we think this is perfectly fine.”

“People should just mind their own business,” Emma grumbled.

“Well, you know that’s not going to happen,” Naima said matter-of-factly. “But don’t stress over it, before you know it there will be some other drama going on for everyone to discuss.”

“Hmmm, that’s so comforting, Aunt Naima.”

Naima laughed at Emma’s sarcasm. “Look at it this way, you and Clay will get a home cooked meal and I’ll be able to catch up on all your news. You’ve been home for almost two months and I’ve barely seen you. I want to hear all about New York and school. Also, Jameelah has been asking about you.”

“A home cooked meal would be nice,” Emma conceded. “And I’d like to see Jameelah and RJ.”

“Good,” Naima replied. “I do also have another motive. Your Uncle Ray has been trying to finish hanging a swing in the yard for Jameelah for a few weeks, and I think that if I send Clay out there with him, they’ll have it up in about twenty minutes.”

Emma laughed. “Aunt Naima, I never realized how much of a schemer you are. You’re getting a swing hung and stopping gossip all with one dinner.”

Naima laughed along with Emma. “A Navy wife does what she has to, sweetie. Now, you get back to me about Friday once you’ve spoken to Clay.”

“I will,” Emma replied. “Talk to you later.”

“Bye now.” Naima answered.

Emma ended the call and sat for a moment staring out at the water. She was bothered, but not completely surprised, that people were talking about her and Clay’s relationship. Hannah had mentioned that her mother had heard some things from some of the wives of members of other teams. Realizing that there wasn’t much she could do about it, Emma decided her best course was to ignore the gossip and go to dinner at Aunt Naima and Uncle Ray’s house.

She appreciated Aunt Naima’s support, but wasn’t sure how her aunt knew how serious or not Emma and Clay’s relationship was. Aunt Naima’s comment about not seeing much of Emma since she returned home from school was very true. Emma had been busy juggling her schedule at the hotel, checking on her Dad, and spending time with Clay. All of that had not left a lot of time for other things, which meant that Aunt Naima really hadn’t seen Emma and Clay together. 

Emma thought that Uncle Ray must have been keeping Aunt Naima informed, which made Emma wonder what exactly Clay had been saying at DEVGRU. For Aunt Naima to think Emma and Clay’s relationship was getting serious, she must have heard something from Uncle Ray that gave her the idea.

Were she and Clay getting serious? Emma wondered. She definitely felt serious about him, but she wasn’t sure what being serious meant for Clay. They had agreed that they were dating exclusively, and Clay had been very sweet on their dates, bringing her flowers, opening doors for her, and trying to do things he thought she would enjoy. He also hadn’t pushed her at all to make their relationship more physical. Emma thought she was pushing him more in that area. She worried that maybe he wasn’t as attracted to her as she was to him.

The problem, Emma thought, was that she had no basis for comparison. This was the one area where Emma felt a lot younger than Clay. The majority of the time she never even thought about their age difference. She liked that Clay was more mature than most of the guys she knew around her age. Due to her Dad’s career and her Mom dying, Emma felt so much older than a lot of her friends, and the dumb antics a lot of guys her age seemed to get into just turned her off. When she and Clay were together, they just fit, Emma thought. They laughed a lot and always had something to talk about. And, sometimes they were perfectly happy not talking and just being quiet together. She never felt like she wasn’t smart enough or mature enough to keep up with Clay, and he never acted as if he thought she wasn’t. But when it came to prior relationships, Emma had zero experience to work from. While Clay… did.

Emma had certainly never planned to reach the age of twenty with so little experience. She had dated in high school and there was a boy she had liked, that she had begun to think would be the one. Then her mother died, and any interest Emma had in boys and dating and really any fun teenage activities had just disappeared. In hindsight, she realized she had pushed a lot of people away. At the time she told herself it was because she had so many more responsibilities, and while that was true, she had also been trying to protect herself from being hurt by not caring for anyone.

Then once she was at Tisch, a lot of people seemed so casual about having sex. Emma wasn’t sure that she could have been that casual about hopping into bed with someone she barely knew even if she wasn’t a virgin, but being one definitely made things more complicated. She could just imagine it from the guy’s point of view. He’s thinking he’s about to hook-up with some girl and she mentions that, oh by the way, she’s never actually done this before, but hey, no pressure. Total mood killer.

Telling Clay had been kind of awkward, but he was really great about it, saying that they would go at her pace and all she needed to do was say stop if anything made her uncomfortable. That sounded good in theory, but in fact they hadn’t actually done anything that might even possibly make her uncomfortable. Every time it seemed like things might go past the heavy kissing stage, Clay backed off. 

Emma wondered if Clay was the one feeling uncomfortable. Maybe her lack of experience was a problem for him, and if he had known about it before he started dating her, maybe he wouldn’t have bothered with asking her out. Of course, now he had gone through the trouble of getting her father’s permission, so he probably felt obligated to keep taking her out for a while, until he could politely put an end to things.

Emma sighed in frustration. She was totally overthinking this now. She blamed it on how easily she became distracted lately. All she had to do was think about Clay, and her thoughts got tangled up in how handsome he was and how he made her feel and they pretty much distracted her from any logical thinking. In her defense though, she thought, have you seen that man’s chest? Not that she’d seen it recently, the last time being the day they went to the beach, before they were dating. She had thoroughly enjoyed spreading sun block on Clay’s back and shoulders that day. A more X-rated version of that activity had been figuring prominently in Emma’s recent fantasy life.

She frowned as she realized she needed to get back to work. She and Clay planned to grab dinner together later, as he would be on a training exercise starting tomorrow and wouldn’t be back until early Friday morning. As she began walking back into the hotel, she debated whether or not she should wear the skimpy halter top Hannah convinced her to buy on their shopping trip last week. She thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt.

***********

As soon as Emma finished work that evening, she rushed back to her room to change before Clay arrived. She grabbed a pair of shorts and then dug out the black halter top. She thought it was possibly a little too much for a casual evening out, but then decided that it was perfect for a hot summer evening. Also, it looked good on her. The crisscross straps left her shoulders bare to show off her tan. Clay wouldn’t know what hit him.

She quickly changed and brushed her hair out of the ponytail she had worn it in for work. She thought about leaving it down but decided putting it up into a messy bun would work better with the halter top. She touched up her light make-up and headed out the door to meet Clay.

As she came out of the entrance to the employee quarters of the hotel, she saw Clay’s truck pulling up. Once it stopped by the curb, she opened the passenger door before Clay could get out. Emma hopped up onto the seat and she thought she saw Clay’s eyes widen as he took in her appearance, but then his SEAL mask came down and she couldn’t read his expression anymore. 

“Hey,” she said as she slid across the seat to get closer to him. Clay leaned forward and they kissed lightly.

“Hi,” he said softly as their lips parted.

“Hi,” she replied. They smiled at each other and Emma slid back to her seat to put on her seatbelt.

“How was your day?” Clay asked. “Any crazy hotel guests today?”

“No,” Emma smiled, “pretty tame today.” One thing Emma had learned working at the hotel was that there were some crazy people out there and they liked to showcase their crazy when they were on vacation.

“Too bad,” Clay stated with a playful grin. “I told Sonny about those people with the fruit. I don’t think he’ll be touching anything from a fruit bowl for a while.”

Emma laughed. “Poor Uncle Sonny. We better not tell him about that time with the chicken bones under the pillows.”

“Oh, I’m saving that for when we have to travel to any place where voodoo is a problem,” Clay shared.

“Oh, no, that’s mean,” Emma stated, as she began to laugh again thinking about Uncle Sonny’s potential reaction.

“What can I say,” Clay chuckled, “I have to keep up my end of the friendship.”

Emma was glad to hear Clay talk about the teasing friendship he had with Uncle Sonny. She knew that her and Clay’s relationship had put a strain on it. Uncle Sonny was protective of Emma and Mikey ever since he took care of them one time when her Dad was injured on a mission and her Mom stayed at the hospital with him. Uncle Sonny still saw her as a little girl, more so than even her own father. He was having a hard time with the idea that she was old enough to be dating Clay.

While they were talking, Clay had driven the truck off the hotel’s property and started heading south from Virginia Beach. Emma, who was relaxing back against her seat and enjoying the breeze from the open window, turned her head to look at Clay. He glanced at her and smiled.

“Where are we going?” She asked him.

“I was thinking we would head down to Sandbridge Island Restaurant and grab some takeout. Then we could go over to the beach down that way and eat it. I have a blanket in the back,” Clay offered.

“Mmm, that sounds good,” Emma replied. “I love their lobster rolls.”

The two of them lapsed into silence as Clay drove along the coast, both of them just happy to be together enjoying the summer evening.

Once they had their food, they headed further south along the coast to a stretch of beach that was relatively deserted. Earlier in the day the rocky tide pools would have hosted a number of beachgoers looking for starfish and other sea life, but now most people had headed home or back to their hotels.

Clay led Emma over to an area near some of the rocks where they could spread their blanket on the sand but still have some shelter from the breeze. They could also lean against some rocks for a backrest if they wanted. Clay unfolded the blanket and laid it out on the sand, and Emma began unpacking their food. Once she had the food out, Emma placed one of her flipflops on the bag with the extra napkins so it wouldn’t fly away.

“Wow,” Emma commented, “think they gave you enough onion rings?”

“Hey, I’m a growing boy,” Clay joked. “But you can have some if you want.”

“I might have some, but I seem to have more than enough french fries with my lobster roll.”

“Those look good,” said Clay, reaching over and grabbing a few from the tray.

“Hey!” Emma said, pretending to be annoyed. “I didn’t say you could have those.”

“You wouldn’t share with your boyfriend?” Clay asked, attempting to give her a pitiful look.

Emma looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to use the big eyes on me, Clay Spenser? Because I am the expert on using big eyes, so I won’t fall for that.”

“The expert, huh?” Clay asked.

“Oh yeah, my Dad’s a sucker for them every time,” Emma said with a grin.

“Hmmm,” Clay murmured thoughtfully. “I’ll have to watch out for the big eyes now, so I don’t fall for them myself.”

Emma laughed. “You can try.”

They talked and laughed while they ate their meals, and then Emma remembered Aunt Naima’s phone call earlier that day. “Aunt Naima called me today. She invited us over for dinner with her and Uncle Ray on Friday night, assuming you guys don’t get spun up.”

Clay had finished eating his crab cake sandwich and was stretched out on the blanket occasionally eating an onion ring or French fry. “She did?” He asked. “What did you tell her?”

“I told her I wasn’t sure what you had planned for Friday night, so I would need to check with you,” Emma answered.

“Well, I don’t have any specific plans,” Clay said. “I figured we’d do something, since I have the weekend off after the training op the next couple of nights.”

“I hope you don’t get spun up then, because I actually have the weekend off too,” Emma shared.

“Really?” Clay asked with some surprise. “You usually end up working at least one day on the weekend.”

“I know,” Emma agreed, “but I told Casey I’d work her early shift on Friday, so she’s taking my Sunday shift. That gives me Saturday and Sunday off this week.”

“Nice,” Clay commented. “So, do you want to go to dinner at Ray and Naima’s? I’m fine with it. Naima’s a good cook.”

“I’d like to. Aunt Naima wants to hear about school, and I’ve hardly seen her and the kids since I got home.” Emma replied. “I should warn you though, Aunt Naima has an ulterior motive. Uncle Ray was supposed to hang a swing in the yard for Jameelah, but he hasn’t done it yet. She’s going to send you out there with him to hang it before we eat.”

Clay grinned. “That’s fine. I can earn my meal.”

Emma debated telling Clay about the rest of her conversation with Aunt Naima, about people talking about Clay and Emma dating. There wasn’t anything he could do about it either, but maybe he would want to know. She frowned as she considered whether it would be better or worse for Clay to know.

“Emma,” Clay’s voice broke into her thoughts, “what’s wrong?”

Emma sighed and looked over at Clay. “Aunt Naima told me one of the reasons she’s inviting us over is to show everyone that she and Uncle Ray don’t have a problem with us dating. I guess people are talking about us.” As Emma spoke, she started putting the empty wrappers and containers from their food back into the bag it all came from so they could carry it out with them later.

“Em,” Clay said softly, “look at me.” Emma glanced up from the bag she was shoving everything into. “Who cares about those people? What they think doesn’t matter.”

“I know you’re right, but it still bothers me,” Emma said sadly.

Clay sat up and turned so he was sitting with his back against the tallest rock. He spread his legs and patted the blanket between them. “Come sit here,” he told her.

Emma moved to sit between Clay’s legs. He slid his arms around her and pulled her back to him so that she was leaning against his chest.

“People just need to talk,” he said, trying to comfort her. “Some other thing will happen and then they’ll all be talking about that instead.”

“Aunt Naima said that too,” Emma said, “but Hannah told me that one of the wives from Charlie team told her mother that if my mother was alive, she never would have allowed it.” 

Emma’s voice broke as she mentioned her mother.

“Oh, Em,” Clay whispered, and then he reached down to lift and turn her, so she was sitting across his lap.

Emma pressed her face into Clay’s neck, and thought, ‘I won’t cry. I won’t cry.’ Clay began gently rubbing her back.

“I don’t know what your mom would have done, Em,” Clay said quietly. “but I do know that she raised you to be the smart, responsible person you are now, and so I think that she would have respected your decision.”

Emma lifted her head from Clay’s neck and gave him a sad smile. “It still makes me angry though that any of these people think they have a right to an opinion on what we do.”

“Me too,” Clay agreed. “But what’s important is what we think and what the people we care about think. And look, Ray and Naima are supporting us, and I think your dad is getting okay with it.”

Emma gave a watery, little chuckle. “Getting okay with it. Is that what we’re calling it?”

Clay smiled a little and shrugged his shoulders.

“I think,” Emma added, “that Uncle Sonny is still having a hard time with it.”

“Yeah,” Clay agreed, “But, Em, as far as I can tell, he thinks you’re still the same age as Jameelah.”

Emma actually laughed a little at that. “That’s true. I’m not sure you can do anything about that.”

“But Brock and Trent are good with us,” Clay continued. “And,” he added with a smile, “Cerb has been supportive right from the beginning.”

“Oh well, as long as Cerberus supports us,” Emma said jokingly.

“If Cerb thought I was hurting you, he’d take my arm off,” Clay pointed out. “So, I definitely want him on our side.”

Emma nodded. “Makes sense.” Then she sighed and leaned her head back on Clay’s shoulder. He continued to rub her back as she slowly regained some control over her emotions. 

Eventually, she lifted her head and gave Clay a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said softly. 

Clay smiled gently at her, “Anytime for you.”

Then he lifted her again and placed her back sitting between his legs, looking out at the ocean. “You’re missing how beautiful it looks now that the light’s fading.”

Emma settled her back against Clay’s chest again and rested her hands on his arms wrapped around her waist. She let out a shuddering sigh. “I could watch the ocean all day,” she said.

“Mmm,” Clay murmured, “it does make your own problems seem small in comparison.”

Emma could feel Clay’s breath as he spoke tickle the bare skin on her neck and shoulder, sending a little shiver down her spine.

“Are you cold?” Clay asked, moving his hands up to rub her arms.

“Mmmm,” Emma answered noncommittally. Then she felt Clay’s beard brush her skin as he tilted his head down and kissed her shoulder. This sent a much stronger tingle of desire through Emma, and she let her head fall to the side to give Clay more access to her shoulder and neck.

Clay began slowly kissing his way from her shoulder up to her neck, and then to where her neck met her jaw. Emma’s eyes slid closed as she focused on the feelings Clay’s kisses were causing. Clay’s hands had gone back to rest at her waist, but now she felt one slide up to her ribcage. It rested there, not moving any further. Then Clay gently sucked her earlobe into his mouth and at the same time his hand moved up to cup her breast, squeezing it softly. A breathy sigh of pleasure escaped from Emma.

Clay’s other arm circled Emma’s waist, pulling her more firmly back against him. She could feel his hardness against the small of her back. Emma’s hands that were resting on Clay’s thighs began to move restlessly as she became more aroused.

Clay released Emma’s earlobe and began placing a sucking kiss just below her ear, where her neck met her jaw. As he did that, his thumb began rubbing across Emma’s nipple. Emma gave a low moan, and she mindlessly arched her back, pressing her breast more firmly into Clay’s hand and the small of her back against Clay’s hardness.

Clay groaned and then stopped kissing her. He lifted his head and looked around, while removing his hand from Emma’s breast. Emma moaned in frustration.

“Em, we have to stop,” Clay said tenderly. “Anyone could come by here.”

Emma reluctantly opened her eyes. Clay was right. There was no one around right now, but it was a public beach and people could walk by at any time. She started to slide forward to get up, but Clay held her hips still.

“Um, why don’t you just stay right there for now?” Clay suggested, and Emma giggled as she realized Clay might find it a little embarrassing if she moved away and someone walked by.

She took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself down. She searched her mind for some topic to distract herself from how good Clay had just made her feel and how much she really wanted him to keep doing it.

Their dinner plans on Friday crossed her mind again, and she realized they shouldn’t arrive at Aunt Naima and Uncle Ray’s house empty handed.

“We should bring something to dinner on Friday night,” she told Clay.

“Yeah, we should,” he agreed. “What were you thinking? I could grab a bottle of wine.”

“Will you have time to do that with your training op?” Emma asked. “Because I can’t buy it.”

“Probably on Friday morning when I head home. I’ll try to remember.” He answered.

“Maybe we should just do something else,” she considered. “Uncle Ray can be kind of a stickler for things like me being under the legal drinking age.”

“Do you have any other ideas?” Clay wondered.

“I could borrow your kitchen and make some cookies. Uncle Ray loves chocolate chip cookies.” Emma suggested.

“Is there anyone who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies?” Clay asked. “But, sure, you can use my kitchen. Will you have time for that?”

“I think so,” Emma said. “I’ll get off on Friday from the early shift at noon, so I can go by your place and make the cookies that afternoon.”

“That works for me,” Clay confirmed. “Remind me to give you my extra key so you can let yourself in. Depending on when we wrap up the exercise that morning, I may be sleeping when you arrive.”

“I will,” Emma replied, pleased at the thought that he would give her a key to his apartment.

“Okay, we should probably get going before it’s full dark,” Clay suggested.

Emma sighed. “I wish we could stay,” she said as she got up from the blanket to pack up.

“Me too,” Clay said as he stood up behind her and began shaking out the blanket.

Emma helped Clay fold up the blanket and as they folded it the last time he leaned down and pulled her close in a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him back. As they separated, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

Emma grabbed the bag with their empty food containers and Clay caught her free hand in his as they walked up the beach and back to the truck.

****************

The rest of the work week dragged by for Emma. On Wednesday night she met Hannah for dinner, and then on Thursday after work she went by Clay’s apartment to check and see if he had any of the things in his kitchen that she would need to make cookies. Surprisingly, she found that he actually owned three baking sheets as well as a bowl big enough to use as her mixing bowl.

Now it was Friday morning and Emma was killing time at the front desk making a list of the things she needed to buy at the store on her way to Clay’s. Working the desk on the early shift was pretty deadly. You were only there for the rare early morning checkout or something going wrong for a guest. You spent the shift hoping nothing happened, but then you were bored out of your mind with little to do.

Around seven she received a text from Clay saying they were done with the training exercise and that he would be heading home soon. Emma was excited that it looked like they had made it to the weekend without Bravo Team being spun up. Now if they could just make it through Saturday and Sunday. This was the first weekend where both she and Clay had both days off at the same time, and she wanted to enjoy it. She didn’t even care what they did, just as long as they could do it together.

Last night before she went to bed, she had packed a bag to take with her to Clay’s apartment. She planned on wearing shorts and a t-shirt over to his place for while she was baking. In her bag she had put the shirt dress she thought she’d wear to dinner, then she added sleepwear and clothes for the weekend, including her bathing suit. Clay hadn’t actually asked her to stay with him, but she planned on convincing him.

At eight her co-worker on the day shift joined her and she was able to take a break. She hurried back to her room to grab a smoothie out of her fridge. Once she returned to the desk, she and Brian, who was working the day shift, chatted companionably for the rest of the morning. Finally, it was noon and Emma said goodbye to Brian and headed to her room to change and grab her bag.

Soon enough she was on the road in her car, singing along to the radio. The beach traffic was a little heavy, but not as bad as she had expected. She decided it would be easier to stop at a grocery store away from the touristy area and closer to Clay’s apartment. 

Once she arrived in Clay’s neighborhood, she pulled into the parking lot of the Kroger. She found a space up front and made her way into the store. Grabbing a basket, she moved quickly through the store, picking up the ingredients she needed as well as a pre-made salad for herself. She hit the twelve items or fewer line and was checked out in about ten minutes.

Back in the car, she headed to Clay’s. She wondered if he would be asleep when she arrived. She pulled into the apartment complex’s parking lot and parked her car next to Clay’s truck. The bagger at the store had placed her items into two bags, but Emma thought they could fit into one and not be too heavy for her to carry. She combined everything into one bag, got out of the car with the bag of groceries and then pulled her overnight bag from the back seat. Possibly it was too much to carry at once, but she thought she’d make it to Clay’s door, and she really didn’t want to make a second trip.

She did make it there without dropping anything, although it was close with the bag of groceries. She let the bag slide down her body and land gently on the floor. Then she placed her overnight bag next to it, while she dug through her purse for the key to Clay’s apartment.

Finding the key, she pushed it into the lock and turned it to unlock the door. She opened the door quietly, not wanting to wake Clay if he was still asleep. She stepped into the apartment and looked around. Everything was silent and she didn’t see Clay in the living room or kitchen area. She saw his backpack abandoned just inside the door, so she knew he was home. She brought her overnight bag inside and dropped it by Clay’s bag. Then she grabbed the grocery bag, closed the door, relocked it, and headed into the kitchen with her groceries.

Emma placed the bag of groceries on the counter and then walked as quietly as she could to the door of Clay’s bedroom, which was open. She peeked inside and saw Clay in bed sprawled on his stomach dead asleep. His head was buried in his pillows, and the sheet had slipped down enough that Emma could see that he wasn’t wearing anything but his boxer briefs.

She smiled and thought about how nice it would be slip into bed next to him and curl up for a nap. She also thought it would be really nice to pull the sheet down the rest of the way and check out his butt in those boxer briefs. 

Forcing herself to stop ogling, Emma reached out and grasped the door handle and gently eased the door closed. She didn’t want to wake him up while she was baking. She headed back to the kitchen counter and unpacked her grocery bag and started preparing the cookie dough.

Without the stand mixer she usually had on hand, preparing the dough took a little longer than usual for her. Eventually it was ready though, and she had the first batch of cookies in the oven. While those were baking, she opened her salad and ate.

Before she finished the salad, the first batch of cookies was baked, and she pulled the sheets out of the oven and placed them on the stove top to let the cookies cool a little before she took them off the sheets. She took a final bite of salad and then put down paper towels on the counter so she could lay out the cookies there to finish cooling. 

She soon had the first batch cooling on the paper towels and the next batch in the oven. She started to get a system going and had most of the dough baked when she heard Clay’s bedroom door open. She looked up from lifting cookies from a tray and smiled when she saw Clay walking towards her. He had pulled on a pair of basketball shorts, but no shirt. Emma thought he looked adorable with his bare chest and bed head.

“It smells really good out here,” Clay said in a gravelly, just-woke-up voice.

Emma put down the spatula and walked over to him. Clay reached out and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Emma reached her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss. 

They broke apart and Emma smiled up at him. “Hey there, sleepyhead.”

“Hey,” Clay said, then yawned.

Emma grinned at him and moved back to lifting cookies off the baking sheets. Clay sat down on one of his bar stools and watched as she prepared another batch of cookies. Once Emma had those in the oven, she turned to the sink to start washing some of the utensils and other items she had used to prepare the dough. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Clay reaching out to take a cookie from the counter.

“Hey, those are to take to dinner,” she chided him.

He immediately pulled his hand back from the cookie he had started to take.

“You touched it now,” she laughed. “You might as well eat it.”

Clay grinned at her, took the cookie back, and ate it in about two bites.

“Delicious,” he declared.

Emma smirked. “Was there any doubt?”

“Oh, listen to you,” Clay teased, “but for all I knew you could have been a terrible baker.”

“Hardly,” Emma snorted.

“Great, I’ll be expecting all sorts of treats,” Clay kidded. “I like peanut butter cookies too.” 

“I don’t know,” Emma contemplated, “I guess if you were really good.”

“I can be really good,” Clay said, his voice deeper and much more intimate.

Emma’s eyes flew up to meet his. They weren’t talking about cookies anymore.

Clay reached out and tugged Emma away from the sink. She let him pull her to stand between his legs as he continued to sit on the bar stool.

“Really good,” Clay repeated huskily. 

Then he leaned down and began kissing Emma. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. Emma slid her arms around him as well, taking the opportunity to run her hands up the bare skin of his back. She felt Clay’s hands move under the hem of her t-shirt at her lower back. Then his fingers began tracing the column of her spine, sending ripples of desire across Emma’s skin. She arched her back, pressing herself closer to Clay’s chest.

Just as Emma was thinking it would be a really good idea to get her t-shirt out of the way, a persistent dinging penetrated the fog of desire in her mind. She couldn’t think of what it was from.

“Em, the oven… cookies,” Clay panted as he broke off their kiss.

Emma was bemused for a moment before it occurred to her what Clay was referring to.

“Right,” she groaned, “the cookies.” She moved to the oven and turned off the timer, then pulled the cookies out of the oven. She put the last tray of uncooked dough into the oven and reset the timer.

She turned to look at Clay. Their eyes met and the desire Emma had felt a moment ago came flooding back. She started to move towards Clay again.

“Wait, Emma,” Clay said. “Aren’t we supposed to be at Ray and Naima’s at 6:30?”

“Yeah,” she answered.

“It’s almost 4:30 now,” he stated. “I better go take a shower, so we can leave around quarter to six.” Clay got off the stool and headed back to his bedroom.

Emma sighed as she watched him walk away. There he goes again, she thought.

******************

After Clay rushed off to shower, Emma finished the cookies and packed them up in two containers. One was to bring to dinner and the other was for Clay to keep for himself. Emma tucked that container away in one of his cabinets to surprise him with later. 

Once Clay finished in the bathroom, Emma grabbed her bag and went in to change her clothes. She pulled off her shorts and t-shirt and tossed them on the floor. Her NYU tee had flour and cookie dough on the front of it. She pulled out the blue shirt dress she had brought for dinner and hung it on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. She rummaged around in the bag looking for her make-up and hairbrush. While doing so she came across the pale blue, lace bra and panty set she had packed. She pulled them out and decided to put them on too. Just in case.

She changed her clothes, brushed out her hair and did her make-up. She then exited the bathroom and found Clay waiting for her in the living room. He was wearing a nice pair of beige shorts and a green t-shirt that brought out his eyes. He got up from the couch as she entered the room and walked over to her and gave her a light kiss on the lips. He seemed to her almost apologetic.

“You look pretty,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”

“Thanks,” she replied. “Let me just get the cookies.”

Emma took the container of cookies off the counter along with her purse and headed with Clay to the door. He opened it and gestured for her to exit first, then he followed and closed the door behind them. Clay locked the door and they headed out to his truck.

Emma and Clay arrived on Ray and Naima’s doorstep promptly at 6:30. Clay rang the doorbell and they waited quietly. Emma tugged at the skirt of her dress nervously with her free hand. She had butterflies in her stomach, as if this was really the first time she was meeting important people in her boyfriend’s life. She thought Clay might be tense as well. He kept jiggling his keys in his pocket. Emma realized that although she already knew Uncle Ray and Aunt Naima, this would be the first time she and Clay would be around them as a couple.

They could hear some noise from inside the house. Emma thought it was Aunt Naima telling Jameelah that she was not allowed to answer the door. Clay turned to Emma and gave her a slight smile and reached over and squeezed her hand. She wondered if he could tell she was feeling anxious.

The door opened and there was Aunt Naima smiling happily at them. Uncle Ray was right behind her.

“Here you are,” Naima said welcomingly. “Come in.”

Emma stepped forward into a hug from Aunt Naima.

“Don’t you look pretty,” Naima said, releasing Emma and turning to hug Clay.

Before Emma could reply, Uncle Ray was hugging her as well.

“Hey stranger,” Ray said. “Haven’t see you in a while.”

“I know,” Emma replied apologetically. “My schedule at the hotel has been crazy.”

“I think you’ve been busy with other things too,” Ray said with a smile and a glance at Clay.

Emma blushed a little at his comment.

“Ray,” Naima admonished, “don’t tease Emma.”

Emma smiled gratefully at Naima. “We brought you some cookies,” she said, holding out the container to Naima.

Before Naima could take it, Ray had the container in his hands.

“Are these some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies?” Ray asked as he started to pop the lid open.

“Oh no, you don’t, Ray Perry,” Naima scolded, snapping the container out of Ray’s hands before he could actually get it open. “These are for after dinner.”

Ray laughed. “Can’t blame a man for trying.”

“They are good,” Clay said.

“Oh, so Spenser’s already had some,” Ray commented. “Only seems fair that I get to have some too.”

“Emma only let me have one,” Clay stated.

Emma smiled. “Nobody’s allowed to ruin their dinner with cookies.”

“Exactly,” Naima agreed.

Before anyone could reply to that, Jameelah came running from the other room.

“Emma! Emma!” The little girl called happily.

Emma leaned down to hug Jameelah as she came running up.

“I missed you,” Jameelah said sadly. “You were gone a long time and I didn’t see you.”

“I know, baby,” Emma replied. “I was away at school.”

Clay smiled as he watched Emma bend down to talk with Jameelah. The little girl was obviously very attached to Emma.

“Jameelah, is Emma’s biggest fan.” Emma heard Naima say to Clay. “Or maybe her second biggest fan now?” Naima continued.

The tips of Clay’s ears turned pink at Naima’s playful comment.

“Hey now,” Ray said, “If I can’t tease Emma, you can’t tease Clay.” Naima just smiled at Ray.

“Jameelah,” Naima said gently, “Can you say hello to Uncle Clay?”

Jameelah peeked up at Clay and then shyly turned her face into Emma’s leg.

“Are you being shy?” Emma asked the little girl. “He’s nice.”

Jameelah peeked out from behind Emma. “Hi, Uncle Clay,” she whispered.

“Hi, Jameelah,” Clay replied, trying to look friendly.

“Okay,” Naima said, “why don’t you all go out on the deck. I need to see what RJ’s up to in the living room on his own. Ray see what Clay and Emma want to drink.”

Emma and Clay followed Uncle Ray towards the door out to the deck.

“What do you two want to drink?” Ray asked. “Emma, we have some of that raspberry lime seltzer you like.”

“That would be great,” Emma answered.

“Clay, what about you? I have beer, but it’s not that microbrew crap.” Ray said with a grin.

Clay laughed. “That’s fine.”

Ray took their drinks out of the refrigerator and they headed out to the deck. As they were sitting down at the table, Naima joined them with RJ in her arms.

“Babe, you want some seltzer too?” Ray asked Naima.

“Please,” Naima replied, as she took a seat. “What have you two been up to?” She asked Emma and Clay, as Ray disappeared inside to get her drink.

“I slept most of the day,” Clay said.

“You and Ray both,” Naima stated. “How about you, Emma?”

“Today I worked the early shift at the hotel, which I don’t recommend, but it does mean I have Sunday off now.” Emma told her. “After that I baked the cookies.”

Naima nodded. “I saw Victoria Seaver the other day. She said you and Hannah were having dinner on Wednesday.”

“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “We did. I was hoping to cheer her up a little.”

“Victoria mentioned something about a guy who hasn’t been treating Hannah very well,” Naima remarked.

Emma sighed. “She met him during the semester at UVA, so I’ve never met him, but he sounds like a jerk. He doesn’t treat her well at all. I thought they broke up before Hannah came home for the summer, but he calls her every so often and makes her feel terrible again. I wish he’d just leave her alone.”

“That’s too bad,” Naima said.

Ray came out onto the deck with Naima’s drink and a sippy cup for RJ. Jameelah followed behind with her own plastic cup of seltzer. She slipped onto the bench between Emma and Clay. Emma smiled down at the little girl and pulled her onto her lap.

“The weather’s so nice, we thought we’d grill,” Ray said. “We have chicken and steak tips, so I hope you’re both hungry.”

“That sounds good,” Clay responded. “Do you need help with the grilling?”

“That would be great, brother,” Ray answered.

“Actually, before we start the grilling, you know what Clay could really help you with?” Naima asked.

“Babe, not the swing again,” Ray sighed.

“You said it was a two-person job,” Naima said. “And here we have your second person.”

“I don’t mind helping you,” Clay interjected.

“Okay,” Ray stated, “we’ll hang the swing. But you’ll have to get the meat on the grill, or we won’t be eating until midnight.”

“I think I can handle the grilling,” Naima said.

“Yay, my swing!” Jameelah called, while clapping her hands.

“Clay let’s grab the swing and rope and I’ll show you where this thing is going,” Ray said, shaking his head.

Ray and Clay headed around the side of the house to get everything they needed to hang the swing. Jameelah climbed down from Emma’s lap and followed them.

“Just us girls now, well, except this little man,” she said, giving RJ a shake. “But he’s not talking.”

Emma had a sinking feeling that she was in for an interrogation now.

“So, you and Clay,” Naima stated. “How’s it going?”

“Good, I think,” Emma replied. “We’ve been taking it slow.”

“That’s good,” Naima said. “There’s no need for you to rush into anything.”

“I guess,” Emma considered. “It’s hard with both our schedules sometimes to spend as much time together as we’d like.”

“That’s just life though, sweetie,” Naima reassured her.

Emma nodded. “I just feel like sometimes Clay is very, um, interested and then he’s not. He pulls away.”

Naima looked at Emma speculatively. “Sweetie, are you referring to the physical side of things now?”

Emma blushed a little. “Yes,” she said in a small voice. “Clay has a lot more experience than me and I wonder if maybe he thinks I’m not…” Emma’s voice drifted off as she tried to come up with the words to express what she meant.

Naima reached out and placed her hand on Emma’s and gave it a squeeze. “Emma, that boy is in love with you.”

Emma looked at Naima questioningly. “Aunt Naima, you don’t know that,” Emma stated, although a little feeling of hope dawned in her heart.

“I’m pretty sure, sweetie,” Naima replied. “But I think that Clay is feeling a bit of pressure dating his team leader’s daughter. He has a good heart and he knows you’re not that experienced. He’s trying to balance doing right by you, particularly in your father’s eyes, with his attraction for a beautiful young woman that he has strong feelings for.”

Emma considered what Naima was saying. “I guess I didn’t look at it that way.”

Naima nodded at Emma’s response. “Did Clay tell you,” Naima asked, “what he said to your father when he asked for permission to date you? Did he tell you about that conversation?”

“Just that he asked, and it was a little tense. And that Uncle Ray was there too and then Uncle Sonny, Uncle Trent and Uncle Brock. So, he basically had to get Dad’s permission in front of all them. And Dad did finally agree after Clay explained how he and I became friends, even though I had told Dad about running into Clay in New York. Dad had totally forgotten all about it.” Emma finished her explanation sounding a little exasperated at her father’s forgetfulness.

“So, he didn’t tell you what he said,” Naima stated, more than asked.

Emma shook her head. “Are you going to tell me?”

“I am, sweetie,” Naima replied. “Your Uncle Ray told me about it when he came home. He was very impressed with what Clay said.”

“Aunt Naima,” Emma burst out. “Now you’re making me crazy. What did he say?”

Naima smiled at Emma. “When Clay asked your Dad, it was more than a little tense. Your Dad was angry, and that’s when your Uncle Ray got involved. He didn’t know what they were talking about, and he wanted to see if he could get them to work it out.”

Emma frowned. She thought Clay had been glossing over her father’s reaction just a little.

“When he found out what your father was angry at Clay about, your Uncle Ray wasn’t too happy either,” Naima continued. “But then your Dad basically accused Clay of taking advantage of you.”

“He never—” Emma exclaimed.

“I know, sweetie,” Naima reassured her, “but that’s what your Dad thought and your Uncles too. That made Clay angry as well, and he told them that he thought they knew him better than to take him for the kind of man who would take advantage of any woman.”

Emma nodded emphatically. “He would never do that.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Naima agreed. “After that is when Clay explained how the two of you became friends, and then your Dad asked Clay why he wanted to date you. And this is where Clay impressed your Uncle Ray, and your father too, I think. Clay looked your Dad straight in the eye and said that you were smart and beautiful and funny and made him laugh. And that you understood him. Then he told your father that if you were anyone else, he already would have asked you out and he would be trying to convince you that he was good enough for you. And then he said that he had too much respect for your Dad to sneak around behind his back with you and too much respect for you to ask you to lie to your father.”

“He said all that? About me?” Emma said wonderingly.

“He did.” Naima confirmed.

“That’s so sweet,” Emma said with a sigh. “That’s when my Dad said it was okay.”

Naima frowned. “Well, no, then your Dad asked Clay what he would do if he said no Clay couldn’t date you and that he had to stop texting you and talking and whatever else.”

“Dad said that?”

“Yes, he did,” Naima replied. “And Clay told him that if that’s what your Dad really wanted, then Clay would stop, but that he’d have to tell you because he wouldn’t just cut you off like that.”

“Clay agreed to that?” Emma asked, sounding just a little angry.

“He did, Emma,” Naima replied, “But I don’t think you should hold that against him. He was in a tough position.”

“Hmmm…” Emma mused. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then,” Naima continued, “your Dad said it was okay. Actually, I believe your Uncle Ray said your Dad’s exact words were, ‘Fine. You can date her if that’s what she wants.’ And then your father threatened to kill Clay if he hurt you in any way.”

“Oh God,” Emma moaned. “He didn’t.” 

“I’m afraid so, sweetie,” Naima confirmed. Emma buried her face in her arms on the table in embarrassment, and Naima reached out and stroked her hair. “That’s how I know he’s in love with you. He wouldn’t have done that for just any girl, Emma.”

While Emma and Naima were talking, Clay and Ray had returned to the yard with Jameelah trailing along behind them. They were currently standing under the tree they were going to hang the swing from discussing how best to proceed.

Seeing the others in the yard, RJ climbed down from the bench and headed off to join them.

“Emma, could you keep an eye on RJ and make sure he doesn’t get in the way while I get this meat on the grill?” Naima asked.

“Sure, Aunt Naima,” Emma replied. She followed RJ into the yard towards Clay and Uncle Ray. Emma thought Clay looked like he was going to climb the tree. She wasn’t the only one to think so, because just as she thought it, she heard her Aunt call out.

“Ray Perry, don’t make Clay climb that tree. Get the ladder from the garage.”

“It’s fine, Naima,” Clay answered. “I can climb it easily.”

“Are you contradicting me, Clay Spenser?” Naima called back.

“No ma’am,” Clay replied quickly. “We’re getting the ladder.”

Emma laughed at Clay. “Don’t contradict Aunt Naima, Clay.”

Clay and Ray got the ladder out and quickly had the rope tied securely to the tree limb. Ray put a level on the seat of the swing and directed Clay as to how much each side needed to be shortened or lengthened to make the swing even. Once that was done, Clay tightened the knots, and came down from the ladder.

Ray moved the ladder out of the way, while Jameelah started dancing around singing, “My swing. My swing.”

“Okay,” Ray said, “we need to test this out before anyone can swing on it. Clay you get on. If it can hold you, then it should be fine for Jameelah.”

“Me?” Clay asked. “Why me?”

“You weigh the most,” Ray replied.

Clay gave a put upon sigh and sat down on the swing. He bounced a little to see if it would hold. Then he pushed off and swung a little.

“Looks good to me, Ray.” He stated.

Ray nodded. “I guess the swing is ready.”

Jameelah came bouncing over with excitement, ready to swing. Clay quickly got up and helped her onto the seat. RJ darted forward to join Jameelah, but Emma caught him.

“Push me, Daddy!” Jameelah called, and Ray moved behind her to give her a push.

Clay stepped back to join Emma and RJ as Jameelah began swinging.

“Me, me, me,” RJ started crying.

“Your turn next, little man,” Emma said.

“Okay, baby,” Ray said, “give your brother a turn.”

Jameelah looked as if she wanted to refuse, but her father’s warning glance changed her mind.

Emma handed RJ to Ray, and he helped his son onto the seat and gave him some gentle pushes.

“Down,” RJ said once he had enough.

Ray lifted his son down and RJ headed back towards Emma.

“Can I swing with you, Daddy?” Jameelah asked.

“You want to swing with me, princess?” Ray asked, looking a little confused.

“Yes, you sit, Daddy, and I’ll sit on your lap,” Jameelah explained.

“Okay, just for a little bit,” Ray agreed, “because it’s almost time for little people to go to bed.”

Ray sat on the swing and lifted Jameelah onto his lap. He pushed off and swung with his little girl.

Emma turned to Clay. “Give me your phone. I want to take a picture.”

Clay handed his phone to Emma and she passed RJ to him. Emma took some pictures while Clay tried to hold on to a wiggly little boy. 

“Time for bed now,” Ray said, ending the swinging. “The swing will be here tomorrow.” He lifted Jameelah down and took RJ from Clay.

“Wait, wait,” Jameelah cried. “Now Uncle Clay and Emma have to swing.”

“Jameelah,” Ray said in a warning voice.

“But, Daddy,” Jameelah said, looking up at her father with teary eyes. “They won’t be here tomorrow.”

Emma leaned in close to Clay and whispered, “Good use of the big eyes there.”

Clay snorted quietly.

“Okay, okay,” Ray gave in.

Jameelah clapped her hands. “Uncle Clay and Emma now it’s your turn.”

“Okay, Jameelah,” Clay said. “I’ll let Emma go first.”

“No, Uncle Clay,” Jameelah disagreed. “You go together. Like me and Daddy.”

“Oh, together,” Clay answered with a teasing smile. “So, Emma will sit on the swing and I’ll sit on her lap, right?”

“No, no, Uncle Clay,” Jameelah laughed. “You’re silly. You’re too big to sit on Emma’s lap. You sit on the swing and Emma will sit on your lap.”

“Go on, Uncle Clay,” Emma laughed. “Sit on the swing.”

Clay sat on the swing, and Emma gingerly sat down on his lap. “This thing is going to hold us, right?” She asked.

“Are you questioning our workmanship?” Clay teased.

“Just wondering if the knots will hold,” Emma explained.

“Emma, I’m a sailor. I know how to tie a knot that holds.” Clay stated, sounding slightly offended.

“Now you can swing,” Jameelah sang out.

Clay pushed off a little with his feet to set the swing in motion.

“Okay, Uncle Clay and Emma have tried the swing,” Ray said firmly. “Now it’s time to go to bed.”

“Okay, Daddy.” Jameelah sighed.

“Give Emma a kiss goodnight and thank Uncle Clay for helping to hang your swing.” Ray swung Jameelah up under his arm that wasn’t holding RJ and leaned her over Emma.

“Goodnight, Emma. Thank you, Uncle Clay,” the little girl repeated, as she gave them each a kiss.

“Goodnight,” Emma and Clay replied.

Ray walked across the yard with a child in each arm, while Emma and Clay continued to sit on the swing.

“Hey, Emma,” Clay murmured.

“Yes,” she replied turning to look at Clay.

“Please don’t ever call me Uncle Clay again,” he asked.

“Sure, but why?” Emma wondered.

“Because no guy wants to hear the woman he wants to get naked with call him uncle,” Clay explained.

Emma eyes widened and a deep red blush spread up her neck to her face.

“Wow, Emma,” Clay teased. “I think that blush started right down—”

“Clay!” Emma exclaimed.

Clay grinned at Emma, then he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. After he ended the kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers and smiled at her. Emma smiled back, and the two of them were lost in their own world for a moment.

Emma and Clay had forgotten all about Naima at the grill. Both of them were surprised when her voice burst into their little bubble. 

“Look this way, you two,” Naima called as she held up her phone to take their picture.

They both turned and smiled for Naima to take some photos.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Naima said after she finished with the photos. “Why don’t you come up to the table?”

Emma and Clay followed Naima back to the deck. Once they reached the table, Emma saw the stack of plates and pile of silverware and she began to set the table for Naima.

“Can I help you with anything, Naima?” Clay asked.

“Could you watch the chicken?” She replied. “The steak tips are done, but the chicken needs a little more time. I need to get some things from the kitchen.”

“Sure,” Clay said, as he stepped up to the grill. Naima handed him the tongs and disappeared into the house.

Naima came back out with a bowl of garden salad and some bottles of salad dressing, which she placed on the side table where the covered tray with the steak tips was already waiting.

“What else needs to come out?” Emma asked.

“I have some potato salad in the fridge,” Naima answered. “Could you get that for me? I’ll bring the corn on the cob and the butter.”

Emma and Naima went back into the house to get the rest of the food. As they returned to the deck, Ray came out to join them.

“Kids in bed, babe?” Naima asked him.

“Yeah,” Ray replied. “RJ is out like a light, but Jameelah isn’t asleep yet. She’s still excited about the swing.”

“As long as she stays in bed,” Naima said, “she’ll eventually fall asleep. Clay, how does that chicken look?”

“It’s ready,” Clay announced, as he started putting the cooked chicken on to the platter Naima passed him.

“Great, everyone please serve yourselves,” Naima told them.

They each filled their plate and settled down at the table to eat. Naima asked Emma about school, and she shared stories about her classes, friends she had made, and other things she had done in New York. Ray and Clay told some funny stories about the team, and Naima told them about some of the things that had happened at the hospital recently.

Just as Naima was asking them if they wanted ice cream or some of Emma’s cookies, a little voice broke into their conversation.

“Daddy,” Jameelah cried from the door of the house. The little girl stood forlornly in her Frozen nightgown, dragging a teddy bear behind her.

Ray turned to look at his little girl. “What’s wrong, baby?” He asked.

“There’s a monster in my room. He gave me a bad dream.” A tear slid down Jameelah’s face.

“Come here, baby,” Ray said, holding his arms out to her.

Jameelah ran to her father and threw herself into his arms. “Hey now,” Ray soothed her, “it’s okay. I thought we scared away all the monsters a few days ago.”

“They came back while you were away,” Jameelah said sadly.

“I guess we’ll just have to go scare them away again,” Ray told the little girl. He stood up with Jameelah in his arms, ready to take care of the monsters.

“Wait,” Jameelah called. “Uncle Clay too.”

“Uncle Clay too?” Ray asked his daughter, giving Clay an apologetic look.

Jameelah nodded insistently.

“I can come help scare away the monsters,” Clay offered.

“Okay, let’s go scare away the monsters then,” Ray said, as he carried Jameelah into the house. 

Clay followed behind with a fleeting smile at Emma.

Naima shook her head as she watched the men leave with her daughter on their mission to get rid of the monsters.

She looked at Emma. “He’s a good man Clay Spenser.”

“He is,” Emma agreed with her aunt. She felt like Aunt Naima was trying to tell her something. 

Naima started to speak, then stopped as if she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. She finally said, “I just want you to be careful, Emma.”

“I will, Aunt Naima,” Emma answered. “I know he’s a lot more experienced than me, but he hasn’t—”

Naima cut Emma off. “That’s not what I meant, sweetie. I mean, I do want you to be careful about the physical side of things, and if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t be afraid to come to me. Anything you said would just be between us. I wouldn’t tell your Uncle Ray. But, that’s not what I’m talking about right now.” 

Naima sighed. “How much do you know about Clay’s family?”

Emma frowned. “His father was a SEAL, who wrote that book, and he wasn’t around much, and not just because of his job. Clay’s mom couldn’t handle raising him on her own and sent him to live with his grandparents in Africa. They raised him.”

“You know his friend Brian died during their Green Team training?” Naima asked.

“I remember overhearing Dad talk about it,” Emma stated. “I didn’t realize that SEAL was a friend of Clay’s. He’s never mentioned it.”

“Clay hasn’t had a lot of people to depend on,” Naima said. “And the few he’s had, his grandparents, Brian, he’s lost them. I think his father leaving and his mom sending him away made him feel like there was something wrong with him. That he wasn’t enough. When he joined Bravo, it took him a while to connect with the guys. He’s never experienced having a Team be his family too before.”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Aunt Naima,” Emma stated.

“Emma, sweetie, I know it’s difficult growing up with a SEAL for a father,” Naima stated, then nodded at Emma’s wry smile in response to that statement. “But your whole life you’ve known what it is to have people love you, that you can depend on. Not just your parents and Mikey, but me and your Uncles. Clay has never really had that, and I just worry that you could very easily break that boy’s heart.”

Emma looked at her Aunt in surprise. Everyone else who had something to say about Clay and Emma’s relationship was concerned about him hurting Emma, of him taking advantage of her, and being too old for her. No one had ever suggested that their roles could be switched, and that she might be able to hurt Clay.

“Clay has already figured out what he wants to do with his life,” Aunt Naima continued. “But, Emma, you’re still figuring that out. I’m just asking you to be careful and think as you go forward. I’m not saying you should give up your dreams or making plans for your future, or that you should stop seeing Clay, but I’m asking you to think about how he fits into those plans. Is this something casual for you or is it something more?”

Emma nodded slowly at her Aunt’s words. Since she and Clay had started dating, she had really been focusing on right now. When she first came home from school, all she thought about was if Clay was even interested in her. Then it was how to handle the situation with her father. Recently is was trying to figure out why Clay kept backing off when things got too physical. 

Now she thought about Clay himself. How good he had been to her so far. How gentle he could be, like when she was upset at the beach. How sweet he had been with Jameelah tonight. She remembered his shy smile when he gave her flowers on their first date. And as much as it had annoyed her at the time, how honorable he was about asking for her Dad’s permission before he would take her out. She was bothered by the idea that Clay could think that he wasn’t good enough for her, or for anything. 

Somehow, he had become the person she wanted to tell first when something important happened. When something crazy happened at the hotel, she immediately wanted to tell him and make him laugh. When she had a problem, he was the one she wanted to talk to about it. Clay had worked his way into every corner of her life, and she liked that. She didn’t want to lose that. There was no one who was better than him, and she wanted him to know that.

That’s when it dawned on Emma that she loved Clay. She was in love with him.

While Emma had become lost in her thoughts, Naima had started packing up the leftover food and stacking up the dirty dishes and utensils and taking them to the kitchen. Emma waited for her Aunt to return to the deck.

“Aunt Naima,” Emma said with a little bit of awe in her voice, “I’m in love with him. I love Clay.”

Naima sat down next to Emma on the bench and hugged her. “I thought you might, baby.”

Emma returned the hug, “I haven’t told him though.”

“Maybe you should,” Naima suggested, as she released Emma.

Emma smiled shyly. “Maybe,” she said.

Before either of the women could say anything more, they heard Ray and Clay talking as they returned from Jameelah’s room.

“What kind of bedtime story was that?” They heard Ray asking Clay.

“Hey,” Clay replied defensively as the men came into view, “do you want your daughter to wait around for some prince to save her or do you want her to be able to save herself?”

“If my daughter wants to start doing Parkour, I will make your life miserable, Spenser,” Ray answered.

“It was the best I could come up with on such short notice, okay?” Clay said. “Bedtime stories are not my thing. But, Jameelah really liked it.”

She’s eight, brother,” Ray responded. “Her standards aren’t that high.”

Naima and Emma smiled at each other, and then Naima stood up. “Who wants ice cream or chocolate chip cookies?”

“What’s wrong with both?” Clay asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Ray chimed in.

Clay sat down next to Emma, and she smiled at him and blushed.

“You okay, Em?” He asked, giving her a probing look.

“I’m good,” she replied softly.

“Emma, could you help me serve up the ice cream _and_ cookies?” Aunt Naima asked, saving Emma from Clay’s scrutiny.

“Sure,” Emma replied, following Naima into the kitchen.

Once the two women were at the kitchen counter scooping out ice cream, Emma spoke. “Thanks, Aunt Naima.”

“No problem,” Naima replied. “I thought you needed a minute.”

Emma just nodded.

Soon enough the ice cream and cookies were eaten, and their meal broke up. Emma and Clay helped Naima and Ray clean up and put things away, and then Naima gave the couple a package of leftovers to take with them.

They all walked to the door and Naima gave Emma and Clay each a hug goodbye. Ray hugged Emma and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then he slapped Clay on his back. Thank yous were exchanged for dinner and the help with the swing, and then finally Emma and Clay were out the door and on their way to Clay’s truck.

Clay opened the truck door for Emma, and she slid inside. While Clay walked around to the driver’s side of the vehicle, she placed the container of leftovers Aunt Naima gave them at her feet. Emma’s emotions were a muddle as she thought about what she had realized at dinner. She wanted to tell Clay, but she wasn’t sure how, or when. There was one thing she could do now though.

As Clay settled into the driver’s seat and started the truck, Emma leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. 

Clay turned and smiled at her. “What was that for?”

“That was for what you said to my Dad about me when you asked for his permission to date me,” Emma replied. “Aunt Naima told me.” There was just enough light filtering into the cab of the truck from a nearby streetlight for Emma to see the blush that rose on Clay’s cheeks.

“Those were the sweetest things anyone’s ever said about me,” Emma added.

Clay bashfully looked away from her and then back with a small smile. Before he could say anything, Emma punched him in the upper arm. Hard.

“Hey,” Clay yelped. “What was that for?!?”

“ _That_ was for saying that you’d stop seeing me if my Dad told you to,” Emma replied, letting a little of her annoyance show.

“Em, I couldn’t come between you and your Dad,” Clay explained. “He’s your only parent left, and I would never want to—”

Emma cut Clay off before he could say any more. “And it didn’t occur to you that if you came to me and told me we couldn’t date and that you were ending our whole friendship because my Dad said so, that it would still come between me and my Dad?”

“Um, well, I guess I didn’t consider that,” Clay replied with a sigh. “But I probably wasn’t thinking straight at that point. I really thought he was about to say no for real, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get over that.”

Emma’s heart melted a little upon hearing that, but she did her best to harden it up again because she still had one more bone to pick with Clay. While she was firming up her resolve, Clay pulled the car out into the road and began driving back towards his apartment.

Emma glanced at the passing traffic and then looked back at Clay as he drove. “How could you say that you’re not good enough for me?” She asked him. “How could you even think that?” Emma was really upset that Clay thought he wasn’t good enough for her.

Clay took a quick look at her and then back at the road. “Em, you deserve the best. I’m sure there’s some guy out there who’s way better than me for you—"

“I love _you_ , Clay Spenser,” she exclaimed, “and there’s no one out there who’s better for me than you.”

The second the words were out of her mouth, Emma wished she could recall them. That wasn’t how she meant to tell him. She had only just figured it out herself, and she would have liked to have told him in a more romantic setting. 

The truck was quiet after her outburst. Emma began to get a little nervous. She definitely should have waited on saying that. Clay seemed to be concentrating on driving, but she worried that he was just trying to think of a way to let her down easy. Once Clay made the turn onto the street of his apartment complex, he looked over at Emma with a grin and reached out and took one of her hands into his.

“I love you too, Emma Hayes.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was published as "More Than Dating" on the ff.net site.

Emma was relieved to hear Clay say that he loved her too, but the burst of happiness she felt at knowing he felt the same was even bigger. She smiled back at him before he returned his gaze to the road so that he could make the turn into his apartment complex’s parking lot. He continued to hold her hand while he parked the truck. 

Clay turned off the engine and faced Emma. With his free hand he reached over and caressed her cheek and then leaned in and kissed her. Clay lifted his head and smiled down at Emma.

“Let’s go in,” he suggested.

Emma nodded and released her seatbelt. Clay got out of the truck and as he walked around to Emma’s side, she picked up the leftovers from dinner that were sitting by her feet. Clay opened her door and reached in to help her down from the truck. She took his hand and hopped down. Clay shut the door and slid his arm around her as they walked to the building entrance.

As Clay opened the door to the building, Emma yawned. Clay smiled and pulled her in close to his side.

“Long day for you,” he stated.

“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “But,” she added with a grin, “it’s been pretty great.”

Clay smiled at her as they stepped into the elevator. “It has been pretty great,” he agreed.

Emma leaned her head against Clay as he stood with his arm around her in the elevator. She was very tired now, but she was too happy to care. She yawned again.

Clay frowned as he looked down at her. “Em, you’re too tired to drive,” he said as they stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall to his apartment. “You should stay here.”

“Okay,” Emma replied, happy she didn’t actually have to convince him to let her stay.

Clay unlocked the apartment door and opened it wide, letting Emma enter before him. As she passed him he spoke. “You can have my bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Emma sighed quietly to herself. “Clay, I don’t want you to sleep on the couch.” She walked to the kitchen and put the leftovers in the refrigerator.

“Em, you’re my guest. You shouldn’t sleep on the couch,” Clay explained earnestly.

Emma walked out of the kitchen and stopped in front of Clay. “I don’t want either of us to sleep on the couch,” she stated firmly. “We both should sleep in the bed.”

Clay frowned. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why,” Emma asked, “because we might do more than just kiss? I’m okay with that.”

“Em, I just don’t want to—“

“Clay,” she cut him off, “did you mean it earlier on the swing when you said you wanted to get naked with me?”

“Well,” he hesitated, “I was teasing you and—"

“Yes or no,” Emma challenged him, “you want to get naked with me.” She was not letting him slip out of this.

“I,” he paused and sighed. “Yes, but I didn’t mean—“

Emma put her fingers to his lips, stopping him from saying any more. “Good,” she stated, “because I want that too.”

Clay’s eyes widened as Emma’s words registered. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again.

Emma smiled at his confusion. “I don’t mean right this minute, but Clay, maybe we could do more than kiss.”

“You’re right, Em,” Clay agreed. “I just haven’t wanted to rush you.”

“I appreciate that,” she replied, “but I’ve been starting to think you aren’t attracted to me.”

Clay wrapped his arms around Emma and pulled her close, “If there is one thing you can be sure of Emma Hayes, it’s that I am very attracted to you.” He smiled down at her and pressed a light kiss to her lips.

Emma smiled back up at him, relieved to know he wanted her too. Then, embarrassingly, she yawned again.

He grinned at her. “Come on, sleepyhead. Let’s go relax on the couch together. We can watch a movie or something.”

“Okay,” she said. Then she gave him a mischievous look. “Want some chocolate chip cookies?”

“There are some left?” Clay asked.

“Some?” Emma laughed. “I made you your own batch.” She walked back to the kitchen and opened the cabinet where she had placed the container of cookies for Clay. She pulled out the container and brought it to him.

Clay grinned at her as she gave him the cookies. “Best girlfriend ever,” he said as he took the container and dropped a kiss on her lips. 

He took Emma’s hand in his and led her over to the couch. They settled down together, Clay sitting with his legs resting on the coffee table with the container of cookies on his left and Emma curled into his right side. Clay grabbed the TV remote and turned on the TV.

“Anything you want to watch?” He asked.

“Mmm, not really,” Emma said, as she snuggled closer into Clay’s side and rested her head on his chest.

Clay began gently stroking Emma’s hair as he flipped through the channels to find something to watch. He stopped on an Avengers movie. He popped the cover off the container of cookies, pulled one out, and started to eat. 

Emma found it difficult to keep her eyes open. She was so comfortable curled up with Clay. His hand caressing her hair was soothing, and she found herself drifting off.

*************************

Clay stopped himself at five cookies. He was going to have to make up for this at the gym on Monday. He glanced down at Emma and saw that she had fallen asleep. He wasn’t surprised as she had been at work at five this morning. He debated to himself whether or not he should wake her up to move to his bedroom. She looked so peaceful, and he hated to disturb her.

Decision made, he slid out from under Emma’s side and gently rested her head on a pillow on the couch. He went into the bedroom and pulled back the covers on the bed. He started to head back to the living room but then turned back to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and tossed it on to the bed. Then he returned to the living room.

He made sure the lid was tight on the container of cookies and then he turned off the TV and the lights in the room. There was enough light coming from the bedroom for him to see that Emma was still deeply asleep on the couch. He walked over to her and bent down to slip his arms under her back and legs. He carefully lifted her off the couch and carried her into the bedroom, where he gently placed her on the bed.

Clay frowned as he tried to decide what to do next. He knew Emma wouldn’t be comfortable sleeping in her dress, but he was hesitant to do anything about it. He had a t-shirt ready for her to sleep in, but he wasn’t sure how happy Emma would be about him taking her dress off while she was sleeping. This situation wasn’t exactly how he had imagined the first time he would take any of Emma’s clothes off.

He sighed and looked closer at the dress. It was sleeveless and buttoned all the way down the front, so really it should be easy enough to unbutton the dress, slide it off her shoulders and drop the t-shirt over her head. He snorted quietly to himself. He’d rather take on a group of Taliban fighters.

Sitting down on the bed beside Emma, who was curled on her side facing him, he reached out and started unfastening the buttons on the dress, starting at the top. He didn’t push the sides of the dress apart so that Emma stayed covered the whole time he was unbuttoning. He had a little difficulty working around her arm that was resting across her stomach, but he was able to get all the buttons undone.

Now that the dress was unbuttoned, Clay realized he’d need Emma to sit up so that he could get the dress off her arms. He remembered watching Naima change RJ’s clothes once while the little boy was sleeping. She had basically moved the boy’s arms and legs around to get him out of his dirty clothes and into clean ones, and RJ was in such a deep sleep it didn’t disturb the boy at all. Clay thought Emma seemed to be that deeply asleep as well.

Clay eased his arm under Emma’s shoulder and started to lift her into a sitting position. 

“Hey Em, help me get your arms out of your dress so you can put on a t-shirt,” he said, hoping she’d at least subconsciously hear him and know what he was doing.

“Mmm,” Emma replied and began pushing the dress off her shoulders.

Perfect, Clay thought. Then he swallowed hard as Emma’s actions revealed the pale blue lace bra she was wearing. He was not expecting that at all, and he wondered how Emma had originally planned for their evening to go. He quickly grabbed the t-shirt he had for her and pulled it over her head, letting the hem drop down and cover Emma’s upper body. He suspected that sleeping in her bra would not be the most comfortable for Emma, but there was no way he was dealing with getting that off.

“Slide your arms into the sleeves of the shirt, Em,” he told her, and again she complied with his request.

Once Emma had her arms through the sleeves of the t-shirt, Clay lowered her back down to the bed. She rolled to her side again, giving him a glimpse of matching blue lace underwear. Clay quickly maneuvered the dress out from under her, and then pulled the covers up over Emma. He tossed the dress over the chair in his bedroom. Once he was sure Emma was comfortable, he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed himself.

He came out of the bathroom to see that Emma had buried herself under the covers with only the top of her blond head peeking out. He smiled because it figured she’d be a covers hog. He pulled off his shorts and debated leaving his t-shirt on with his boxer briefs. Finally, he pulled it off too. He hated sleeping in too many clothes.

He crawled into bed next to Emma and wrestled some of the covers away from her. She rolled over to curl up against him. As much as he enjoyed having her close, he suspected feeling her pressed against him was not going to make falling asleep easy for him. But slowly he relaxed, as he enjoyed the comfort of having Emma cuddled up with him. His breathing slowed and he finally dropped off to sleep.

*************************

Early the next morning Emma awoke. At first, she was confused as to where she was, but then in the pale dawn light filtering through the blinds she could make out the features of Clay’s bedroom. She was spooned up to Clay, her back to his front, and she could feel the weight of Clay’s arm across her waist holding her close.

The last thing she remembered clearly was lying on the couch with Clay watching TV while he ate some of the cookies she had made for him. She knew she had been wearing her dress then, but now she had a t-shirt on. She had a vague memory of Clay helping her take the dress off her arms and his pulling the t-shirt over her head. He must have carried her into the bedroom. She wished she could remember that.

She realized she was still wearing her bra, which now became annoying. She felt like the lace had become scratchy and she really wanted it off. Doing her best to ignore it, she tried to enjoy how cozy it was being cuddled up with Clay in bed. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back as he breathed deeply in a sound sleep. Their legs were tangled together, and she smiled secretly to herself as she became aware of Clay’s morning erection pressing against her bottom.

Her bra was driving her crazy. She couldn’t seem to put it out of her mind. There had to be a way for her to get it off without getting up and waking Clay. Maybe she could pull the straps off her shoulders and then twist it around to undo the clasp. She decided that wouldn’t really work as she was lying on her side. She considered reaching around and undoing the clasp, then it would be loose, and she could just leave it partially on. Deciding that was the best course of action, Emma reached around for the clasp. The problem was she couldn’t grasp it well enough to unfasten it.

She sighed and lay still for a moment. She really couldn’t come up with any other ideas. Maybe she’d give just one more try. Slowly she reached around again and strained to get a good grip on the clasp. In her efforts to reach around this time, Emma inadvertently arched her back and brought her ass firmly into contact with Clay’s erection. Clay groaned in his sleep and tightened his arm around Emma’s waist. Emma froze, then inhaled deeply at the surge of desire she felt. She fought the urge to press herself back against Clay again.

So focused on her internal thoughts, Emma didn’t realize Clay had woken up.

“Em,” he asked in a sleepy morning voice, “what are you doing?”

She felt a flush of embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she replied. “I was just trying to take off my bra. It’s not comfortable to sleep in.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t take it off last night,” Clay apologized. “It didn’t feel right taking it off you when you weren’t awake.”

Emma rolled over so she was facing Clay and threaded her arms around his neck.

“That’s okay,” she assured him. Then she added with a playful smile, “I want to be awake when you take my bra off.”

As soon as Emma said that, Clay’s sleepy gaze became much more intense. She could see the desire darkening his eyes. Instinctively, she lifted her face to him, and he leaned in and kissed her hungrily. This kiss was different from the ones that had come before. She could feel Clay’s need for her, and she echoed it in her response to his kiss.

She opened her mouth, allowing his tongue entrance. Clay groaned and tightened his arms around her, pulling her flush against his chest. His hands began caressing her back, and one slipped down to cup her ass and press her to his hardness. Emma moaned as she felt him pressing against her. She began sifting her fingers through Clay’s hair as he sucked her tongue into his mouth. His hand slid down her leg to her knee, and then he lifted her leg over his hip bringing his erection into direct contact with her core.

Feeling Clay’s hardness pressing against her, Emma broke off their kiss, needing to breathe as she became overwhelmed by desire. She whimpered Clay’s name as he continued to pepper kisses on her jaw.

***************************

When Emma broke off their kiss, Clay realized they were moving too fast. They had jumped way ahead here and they needed to slow things down. He rolled so that Emma was lying on her back and then he pulled his hips away from hers, turning to lie alongside her.

Emma opened her eyes and looked at him. “Clay?” She questioned, unsure why he had stopped.

Clay dropped a kiss on her nose. “Just slowing things down a little, Em,” he reassured her.

Emma nodded, and he smiled at her. He leaned down and began to kiss along her jawline towards her neck. As he kissed her, he stroked gently up and down her side with his hand. Emma brought her arms around him and began to caress his back and shoulders.

Clay continued to kiss her neck and Emma moved her head to the side to give him better access. The collar of the t-shirt she was wearing covered where her neck and shoulder met, stopping Clay from kissing her there.

Clay lifted his head and looked at Emma. “Is it okay if we take this off?” He asked as he grasped the hem of the t-shirt.

“Yes, please,” Emma replied.

Clay grinned at her response and he pulled the shirt up over her head. Emma lifted her arms so that it came away easily, and Clay tossed it off the bed. He looked down at Emma in her blue lace bra and panties.

“You are so beautiful, Em,” he said reverently.

She smiled shyly at him, and Clay leaned down and kissed her lips as his hand came to rest on her hip. Emma slid her arms around him again and she began running her hands slowly up and down his back. Clay started kissing along her jawline again and then on to her neck. He pressed kisses down the column of her throat. As he continued with his kisses, his hand slowly stroked upward from Emma’s hip. He squeezed her waist and slowly dragged his fingers along her rib cage.

Clay thought he had slowed things down, but the sight of Emma in her lace underwear and the feel of her soft skin weren’t letting him keep things slow. He was worried he was rushing her, but she didn’t seem to be hesitant at all with what they were doing. In fact, her hands running up and down his back were getting him more aroused, particularly as on each downward stroke Emma was bringing her hands lower to caress his ass.

************************

When Clay first pulled off the t-shirt she was wearing and looked down at her, Emma felt a little shy. She knew he had seen her in a bikini, but this felt different. She wanted Clay to look at her, but at the same time she had the urge to grab the sheet and pull it over herself. Then she saw the look of awe in Clay’s eyes and she never felt more beautiful.

As Clay began kissing her jaw again, Emma ran her hands slowly up and down his back. She wanted to touch him everywhere. Each time she ran her hands down his back she let them drift a little lower so that she could feel his ass. She was tempted to slip her hands under the material of his boxer briefs so she could feel his bare skin, but Clay moved a little lower to kiss her neck and she couldn’t quite reach any more.

Clay’s fingers running along her rib cage were starting to make her a little crazy. She kept hoping they would continue up to touch her breast, but each time they moved back down to her waist. As his hand began to make its upward trip again, she arched her back in an effort to get him to keep moving it higher, but again it began to stroke downward.

Clay had now moved down to kiss the base of her throat and Emma let her head fall back on the pillow. She felt Clay giving her a sucking kiss at the base of her throat, and as he did so his hand finally swept upward and squeezed her breast. She let out a low moan of pleasure as Clay’s hand continued to fondle her breast.

Moving lower still, Clay began to kiss the valley between her breasts. Emma’s eyes drifted shut as she focused on how good his hand caressing her felt. Her hips began to pulse off the bed of their own volition, and Clay moved over Emma so that she was pressing herself to him with each upward lift.

Clay’s hand stopped touching her breast and Emma let out a small sound of displeasure. She opened her eyes and looked down at Clay, who had lifted his head. He slipped his finger under the lace cup of her bra on her other breast and gently eased it down exposing her to his view. Then he slowly licked her nipple and blew softly on it, making it stand even more erect. Emma released a sigh of pleasure and arched her back, craving something, she wasn’t sure what. Then Clay bent his head to her breast and took her nipple into his mouth and sucked gently on it.

She moaned Clay’s name and rocked her hips harder against him. Clay smiled slightly and moved his head to give her other breast the same treatment. As he did, he slipped his hand under her back and unfastened her bra.

“Let’s take this off,” he murmured as he sat up to slide the bra straps off Emma’s arms.

“Yes,” Emma breathed, happy to finally have it off.

Emma thought she should be embarrassed to have him looking at her bare breasts, but she only felt impatient for him to start touching her again. Clay stretched out beside her and began teasing her nipple again with his mouth. His hand went to her other breast and rolled that nipple between his thumb and finger, which caused Emma to start lifting her hips off the bed again. Without Clay’s weight over her though, she found it unfulfilling.

Clay, realizing what she needed, moved his hand from her breast and slipped it into her panties. He began rubbing her clit and Emma began rocking hard against his hand. She became so focused on what Clay was doing with his hand and how good it felt, that she didn’t realize he had stopped kissing her breast and had moved lower to kiss her stomach. But then he removed his hand from her underwear, causing Emma to make a frustrated sound.

“Hold on, Em,” Clay said. “Is it okay if I take these off?” He asked, slipping his fingers under the lace, where it covered her hip.

Emma nodded. “Yes, off,” she sighed.

“Lift up your hips,” Clay told her, as he tugged the panties down.

She lifted up and Clay pulled the panties down past her knees, and then she kicked them away among the covers.

Clay began kissing her stomach again and nuzzled at her belly button, which made Emma laugh. As he did so, he moved to lay between Emma’s legs. His kisses moved lower and Emma’s eyes popped open. Was he going to kiss her there?

“Clay?” She asked uncertainly.

Clay looked up at her. “Trust me, Em?” He asked.

“Yes,” she whispered in response. Of course, she trusted him, she thought, but she wasn’t sure about this. She felt very exposed in this position. She knew she could tell Clay to stop and he would, but then there was also a part of her that didn’t want him to stop. That part of her wanted to experience this with Clay.

Clay lifted one of Emma’s legs over his shoulder, and she could feel his beard tickling the skin of her inner thighs. Before she had time for any second thoughts, Emma felt Clay’s tongue licking her, and she moaned at the sensations it caused. Then he began to suck gently on her bundle of nerves. Any possible coherent thought faded from Emma’s head as she became overwhelmed by the pleasure she was feeling. Her body was straining for release and Clay knew exactly what to do to help her there. He slipped a finger inside her and increased the pressure of his mouth on her clit. Emma rocked her hips in rhythm with Clay’s tongue and finger, driving her closer and closer to her peak. She reached down and threaded her fingers in Clay’s hair while her other hand twisted in the sheets. Then finally she felt the pleasure explode inside her and she repeatedly moaned Clay’s name, loudly.

Emma slowly returned to her senses as Clay moved to stretch out beside her. She opened her eyes and looked up at Clay. He smiled at her and leaned down and kissed her slowly.

“You good, Em?” He asked once he broke off the kiss.

“Mmmm,” she replied. “I think all my bones have melted.”

“That’s good, right?” Clay asked with a boyish grin.

“Yeah,” she agreed, thinking about how good it was exactly. Then she blushed remembering how loud she had been when it was happening.

“Why are you blushing?” Clay asked. 

Emma ducked her head down a little. “I was kind of loud there at the end. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Emma,” Clay reassured her, and she looked back up at him. “Don’t ever be embarrassed about enjoying what we do together,” he added. “Okay?”

Emma nodded.

“Besides,” he continued with a wicked grin, “I liked it. It was hot.” Emma blushed a little more upon hearing that. As Clay spoke, he pressed his hips to Emma’s side, and she could feel how aroused he still was.

A minute ago, Emma would have sworn she could barely move, but now a new wave of desire swept over her. She rolled on her side to face Clay, bringing her hips back into contact with his. Clay groaned as she pressed her hips to his hardness. Then she snaked her hand down between them to squeeze Clay’s hardness through his boxer briefs. He moaned at her touch and pressed himself into her hand.

Emma moved her hand to the waistband of his underwear and slipped it under to touch his bare skin. She wrapped her hand around him, but found the waistband made it difficult for her to touch Clay the way she wanted.

“Clay, help me take these off,” she said, looking up at him.

In response, Clay lifted his hip from the bed and they both tugged his boxer briefs down. Emma pushed them the rest of the way down, and Clay kicked them off his feet.

Emma pushed Clay gently on to his back and began kissing his neck. As she did that, she dragged her hand down his chest and wrapped it back around Clay’s erection. Clay covered her hand with his own and together they began stroking his length. He moaned, and Emma smiled as she continued to kiss her way across his chest.

“Em,” Clay groaned, “hold on. Stop.”

“Why?” Emma asked. “What’s wrong?” She squeezed him as he removed his hand from hers.

“Mmm… Em,” he groaned. “If we keep doing this, it’s all going to be over in a few minutes. Is that what you want?”

It took Emma a second to realize what Clay meant.

“If that’s what you want, it’s okay,” Clay stated.

“No, that’s not what I want,” she said. She looked into his eyes and continued, “I want you. I want you inside me.”

Clay groaned at her words. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she said and leaned in and kissed him.

Clay wrapped his arms around Emma and rolled so that she was lying on top of him. Emma smiled as she savored the feeling of her bare skin against Clay’s. Then she began to kiss her way down Clay’s neck to his chest. Clay ran his hands down Emma’s back and brought them to rest on her ass. He began gently squeezing, and Emma started to squirm on his hardness. Clay groaned and moved one of his hands to grip her hip and help her find the rhythm he needed.

Emma lifted herself off Clay’s chest, holding herself up with her hands on his shoulders, as she rocked her hips harder on Clay’s erection. Clay brought his hand up and began fondling Emma’s breast. She gasped and increased the movement of her hips.

“Mm--, Em,” Clay moaned. “Hold on… need protection.”

Emma froze. She hadn’t even thought about protection. Way to be a responsible adult, Emma, she thought.

Clay slipped out from under her and moved up the bed to reach into his bedside table drawer. He was digging around in the drawer and not finding what he was looking for. Emma frowned and worried he didn’t have a condom. She thought he looked a little worried too.

Finally, Clay pulled one out of the drawer. He quickly tore open the package and rolled the condom on. Then he stretched out beside Emma again and took her into his arms. He rolled her gently under him so that his lower body rested between her legs.

The pause in the action had given Emma enough to time to get a little nervous. Clay must have realized she wasn’t quite ready. He began kissing her again, first on her lips then slowly along her jaw to her neck. Resting his weight on one arm, he moved his other hand and began stroking her body from her thigh up to her shoulder and down again.

Emma slid her arms around Clay and began caressing his back and shoulders. Then she eased her hands down and cupped his ass, as Clay began rocking his hips against her. She moaned as his erection pressed against her. She placed her feet flat on the bed and slid them up so that Clay was now lying between her knees. She began raising her hips to meet Clay’s as he pressed rhythmically against her.

Clay reached down between them and guided himself to her entrance. Emma felt the pressure as he began to ease himself into her. Clay slowly thrust into her and then withdrew, only to press deeper with the next motion of his hips. Emma instinctively began lifting to meet Clay’s thrusts, and she felt a sharp pain, causing her to gasp, as he slid all the way inside.

Clay froze. “Em, am I hurting you?” He asked urgently.

“No, it’s fine.” She assured him. 

Clay began to pull back, and Emma immediately tightened her legs on his hips and held him to her. “Don’t,” she said. “It’s fine now, really. It did hurt for a second, but now I’m good.”

He looked down at Emma. “Are you sure?” He asked worriedly.

“I’m sure,” she assured him.

Clay didn’t move, and Emma worried that he wanted to stop. Before the pain, it had started to feel really good, and she wanted to get that feeling back. She rocked her hips a little, and Clay groaned. Emma began rolling her hips more, and Clay started moving with her.

“Em,” he panted, “tell me if I’m hurting you.”

“—will,” she moaned. “Promise.”

Emma could feel her orgasm building, not as strong as earlier, but she could feel it coming. Clay’s movements became more urgent and he pressed his face into her neck as he moaned her name. He slid his hand between them and massaged Emma’s clit. She moaned Clay’s name as that brought on her orgasm, which was enough to trigger Clay’s as well. Clay let out a long, low groan and then collapsed on Emma as his arms could no longer hold his weight.

Emma ran her fingers through Clay’s hair and held him to her. She enjoyed the feeling of his weight pressing her into the bed.

“Sorry, Em,” Clay said as he recovered. “I’m crushing you.”

“It’s okay,” she replied, smiling up at him. “I like it. You good?”

He grinned at her, and said teasingly, “I think all my bones have melted.”

She giggled. “That’s good, right?”

“Yeah,” he said, leaning in to kiss her. “You’re okay, right?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” she reassured him.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll be right back. I need to take care of the condom.” Clay eased off of her and headed into the bathroom.

While he was gone, Emma pulled the sheet back up and found the pillows that had been pushed haphazardly around the bed. She settled down and got comfortable, figuring they could sleep for a couple of hours more.

Clay came back from the bathroom with a worried look on his face.

“Are you sure you’re fine?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Emma replied. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just,” Clay hesitated, “um, there was blood on the condom.”

“Well,” she said matter-of-factly, “it was my first time. So, I guess that’s not unusual.”

Clay chewed on his lip. “I guess.”

“Come back to bed,” Emma told him, lifting the sheet for him to get under.

Once Clay laid down next to her, Emma rolled against his side and rested her head on his chest.

“I promise I’m fine and that I’ll tell you if I’m not, okay?” She reassured him.

Clay nodded. “I just don’t want to hurt you ever, Em,” he said seriously. “When we’re together like this, it’s not just about me. I want you to enjoy it too.”

“I did,” Emma promised. “And trust me, I’ve heard some stories from friends whose first times _were_ painful and did not involve having an orgasm.”

“I believe that was two orgasms,” Clay pointed out.

“Oh God,” Emma laughed. “Are you going to be able to get your big head through the bedroom door later?”

“Just sayin’,” Clay said with a grin.

“Go to sleep,” Emma laughed.

They were both quiet for a bit and Emma started to doze, when Clay spoke.

“Hey, Em,” Clay asked, “want to hike up to Crystal Lake later? We can swim there, and it shouldn’t be as crowded as the beach.”

“Mmm,” Emma replied. “That sounds nice.”

“If you’re up to it,” Clay added. “Maybe you won’t want to walk that far.”

Emma shook her head. “Yes, Clay,” she teased, “because of your manly prowess I won’t be able to walk much today. I better just stay lying down.”

Clay laughed and rolled to his side to look at Emma. “Come here with that smart mouth,” he said and kissed her.

“You love my smart mouth,” Emma replied.

“I do,” he said seriously. “I love you, Emma.”

Emma smiled at him. “I love you too, Clay.”

Clay pulled the sheet back up over them, and they curled up together to get some more sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place a week after the dinner with Ray & Naima and the weekend Emma spends with Clay.

Emma slowly ran her hairbrush through the length of her hair. She still had a little while before Clay would arrive to pick her up for her birthday dinner. Actually, this would be her second birthday dinner. She was supposed to have this dinner with her Dad and Mikey the night before her birthday, but that was cancelled because her Dad was spun up and didn’t get back until early on the morning of her birthday. They had been trying to reschedule since then, but all three of their schedules had made it difficult. Tonight was finally the night they were all available, only a month late. This made it her second birthday dinner though because Clay had taken her out on her birthday for a picnic on the beach.

The original dinner was supposed to be just her, Mikey and her Dad. Of course, when they had planned that one, she wasn’t dating Clay. After they started trying to reschedule, her Dad asked if she wanted to invite Clay. She had been surprised, but happy, that her Dad was willing to include Clay. 

However, she was a little nervous as this would be the first time since she and Clay had started dating that the two of them as a couple would spend an extended period of time with her Dad. Okay, she was more than a little nervous. She was a lot nervous.

According to Clay, her Dad was all business when they were on base. Although Emma took that statement with a grain of salt since Clay had glossed over how angry her father had been when Clay approached him for permission to date her. She didn’t think her father would be difficult exactly. She knew he wouldn’t have included Clay in the dinner if he was still upset about them dating, but just because he wasn’t upset any more didn’t mean he was happy about it either.

Part of the problem, Emma thought, was that her Dad had never really seen or spent time with her when she had a steady boyfriend. Not that she really had any serious boyfriends in high school. There was a guy she dated for a little while at the end of her sophomore year, Sam, but they weren’t serious. They had been more friends, but even so her Dad had never even met him. He had been deployed for most of that time. Her Mom was the one who had met Sam and most of Emma’s casual dates.

When she was a freshman an upperclassman had asked her to the winter formal. James was a junior and a little bit geeky, but very nice. Her father had been there when James picked her up. Her mother had to stop her Dad from getting out his service weapon and having it ready to clean when James arrived. 

She also suspected her mother had told her Dad about Julian, but Dad had never met him, and then her Mom died, and it didn’t matter anymore.

What all of this meant though was that her Dad wasn’t used to seeing her with a steady boyfriend, holding hands or, God forbid, kissing. She basically had the issue of her Dad needing to get used to seeing her in a relationship, complicated by the fact that the relationship was with Clay. She thought they were all in for a bumpy period of adjustment, and tonight’s dinner was the just the beginning of that.

Emma sighed, put down her hairbrush, and turned away from the mirror. She was ready to go now but still had about ten minutes until Clay arrived. She picked up her phone and texted Hannah.

**Emma**

Leaving soon for birthday dinner with Dad, Clay & Mikey

**Hannah**

Where again? I want to sit at a table nearby and spy

**Emma**

Ha ha

**Hannah**

Just sayin it should be entertaining.

**Emma**

I do live to entertain you

**Hannah**

20 bucks says Uncle Jason does that thing where he rubs his hands thru his hair cause he’s stressed within the first half hour.

**Emma**

Not helping

**Hannah**

Ohhh I’m supposed to help.

Don’t worry it will be fun. There will be presents and fettuccine. What more could you want?

**Emma**

That’s better

**Hannah**

Just don’t kiss Clay with tongue while your dad’s around.

**Emma**

Hannah!!!

**Hannah**

No kissing at all while your dad’s around actually

**Emma**

Going now!

**Hannah**

Have fun!

Emma shook her head as she dropped her phone into her purse. She walked over to her closet and grabbed the sandals she wanted to wear. These were her new favorite shoes. They had straps studded with rhinestones that looked like flowers that wrapped around her foot and ankle. They were just dressy enough without being too fancy. Looking at them on her feet made her happy.

Just then there was a knock on her door. Knowing it was Clay, she opened the door without asking who it was.

“Hey,” she said with a smile, leaning in for a kiss hello.

Clay kissed her gently and then stepped back. “Hi, you look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” she replied, stepping out the door and closing it behind her. “You look very handsome yourself,” she added. 

Mmm, and he did, she thought. That blue shirt brought out his eyes and it was just form-fitting enough to emphasize his muscular upper body. It definitely gave her ideas for later.

Clay took her hand as they started walking down the hall to the exit. “You know,” Clay said seriously, “you should really ask who it is before you open the door.”

Emma rolled her eyes just a little. At times like this, Clay sounded exactly like her Dad. “I knew it was you.”

“Except I shouldn’t even be able to make it to your door,” Clay explained. “I shouldn’t be able to get past the outside door. What if some other person got let in and knocked on your door?”

“I know,” Emma agreed, “but at this point everyone knows you’re my boyfriend. That’s why they let you in.”

“You could have broken up with me, and now I’m stalking you,” he pointed out.

Emma took a deep breath. Did she think exactly like her Dad? More like worse than her Dad.

“I promise that from now on I will always ask who it is,” Emma assured him.

They exited the building and headed towards Clay’s truck. As they crossed the parking area, Clay wrapped an arm around Emma and pulled her close into his side.

“I know I’m being a little over the top, but I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said, then turned his head and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Maybe just a little over the top,” Emma agreed, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

He just smiled and shrugged his shoulders before turning and opening the truck door for her to get in.

************************

Jason and Mikey walked up to the entrance to Lorenzo’s restaurant, carrying gift bags with presents for Emma. Jason had driven over to Chesapeake to pick up Mikey from his hockey camp. They had made good time, but the return trip to Virginia Beach was in the opposite direction from the majority of the traffic.

As they approached the door to the restaurant, Jason kept an eye out for Emma and Clay.

“Do you think they’re here already?” Mikey asked.

“I don’t know, bud,” Jason replied. “We’re a little early.”

“Wait,” Mikey said pointing. “There’s Clay.”

Jason looked in the direction Mikey was gesturing and saw Clay opening the passenger side door of his truck for Emma. His daughter took the hand Clay was offering her and hopped down. The couple started walking towards the entrance, but neither of them noticed Jason and Mikey standing by the door.

Jason watched the pair as they walked together across the parking lot. They seemed to be in their own little world, talking and laughing together, and they were still holding hands from when Clay helped Emma out of the truck. Jason had to admit that both of them looked happier than he had seen in quite some time.

“Emma, Clay!” Mikey called out as the couple approached.

They both looked over and Emma smiled as she saw her father and brother. Emma released Clay’s hand and moved forward to give her brother a hug.

“Mikey,” Emma said fondly, “still have all your teeth from hockey?”

Mikey grinned, and responded. “So far.”

As the siblings greeted each other, Jason smiled then turned to offer his hand to Clay for a handshake. “Clay,” he said.

“Jase,” the younger man answered. “Thanks for including me.”

“It’s Emma’s dinner, and I know she wants you here,” Jason replied, trying to be diplomatic.

He figured he needed to get used to this as his children got older. They would both date and sometimes want to bring those dates to family events. He just hadn’t expected it to be so hard to deal with. He thought it might be easier for him if it were Mikey, which he knew was sexist of him, but there it was. Emma was his baby girl, and she was supposed to be holding on to his hand still.

Emma let go of her brother and turned to Jason. “Hi, Dad,” she said as she moved to hug him.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. “Happy Birthday.”

“You know,” she said, leaning back to look up at him, “my birthday was a month ago.”

“I know,” he answered, “but it’s your birthday dinner, so for while we’re at dinner, you’re the birthday girl.”

“Works for me,” she replied with a grin. “Are those for me?” She asked gesturing to the gift bags Jason and Mikey were holding.

“Can’t have them now,” Mikey proclaimed. “You know the rule.”

Emma playfully gave a pouty look, but Clay spoke. “What’s the rule?”

“No one is allowed to have their presents until we’ve ordered dinner,” Mikey explained.

“Got it,” Clay said. “How’ve you been, Mikey? How’s hockey camp?” He asked.

“It’s great,” Mikey answered. “I’m gonna be ready for varsity this Fall.”

Before Clay could reply to that, Jason spoke. “We should go in. We have a reservation.”

Jason opened the door and they all headed into the restaurant. He stepped up to the hostess stand and gave their name. Once she found their reservation the hostess picked up menus and told them to follow her.

They trailed along behind the hostess across the restaurant until she reached a booth near the back. She smiled, placed the menus on the table and told them their server would be with them shortly.

Mikey slid into the seat on one side and Jason sat down next to him, while Clay gestured to Emma to slide in first on the other side. Then he sat down next to her, across from Jason. Jason picked up the menus the hostess left and began handing them around.

“You don’t need this, Emma,” he said teasingly as she reached for hers.

“I like to look,” she protested, grabbing the menu from his hand.

Mikey laughed. “But you know you’re going to have fettucine alfredo.”

“I could change my mind,” Emma insisted.

“No, you won’t,” Mikey stated. “The only thing you like more than fettucine alfredo is blueberry pancakes. And you can’t get pancakes here.”

Jason grinned as he watched the interplay between his children. He noticed Clay’s attention to their antics.

“It’s true, Spenser,” he said. “Never get between Emma and her blueberry pancakes.”

“Yeah,” Mikey agreed fervently.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Emma said demurely.

“A fork and your brother’s wrist come to mind?” Jason asked her.

“I was ten!” Emma objected.

Clay laughed. “But you let me have some of your blueberry pancakes the last time we ate at the diner near my place,” he teased.

“No way!” Mikey exclaimed. 

“I like him better than you,” Emma replied with a teasing smile for her brother. “Also,” she added, “he didn’t try and grab them off my plate.”

“I was four!” Mikey responded, imitating Emma. Then his expression became thoughtful. “Does this mean you guys are like girlfriend and boyfriend now?” He asked curiously.

There was an awkward pause as Emma didn’t answer immediately. Jason waited to see what she, or Clay, would say. He saw Emma’s eyes flick to him quickly and then back to Mikey.

“Yeah, we are,” Emma said quietly, but with confidence in her voice.

Jason saw a slight smile flicker across Clay’s face at Emma’s response, but he carefully kept his own face blank at her words. He was hoping that they were reaching the point where the novelty of dating each other was wearing off. But he supposed that a month wasn’t long enough for the newness to have dissipated, particularly after all the build-up before Clay asked for permission. Also, all the spin ups meant they weren’t together as much as they would have been if Clay worked an ordinary job. Jason figured he was just going to have hang in there for a little longer.

“But how does that work?” Mikey questioned. “I mean, Clay’s on Dad’s team.”

“We keep that separate,” Clay answered.

“Yeah, but how?” Mikey asked, probing deeper. “I mean, if Dad is the boss and—”

Jason rubbed his hands in his hair, then cut Mikey off before he could continue down that rabbit hole. “Why don’t we let your sister and Clay off the hot seat, okay bud? We need to figure out what we want to order or when the waitress gets here only Emma will be ready.”

“Okay, but--,” Mikey tried to continue.

“Mikey,” Jason said firmly, giving his son a serious look.

“Sorry, Dad,” Mikey replied, opening his menu.

As Jason opened his own menu, he noticed Clay and Emma exchanging relieved looks. He wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to get into that discussion.

For a moment there was silence at the table as they looked at their menus, but then Clay spoke. “What’s good?”

Emma leaned into his arm and peered at his menu. “The carbonara is good,” she suggested. 

“The pizzas are good too,” Mikey added. “Mom always liked the seafood risotto, and Dad gets that beef thing.”

“Beef braciole,” Jason said. “Are we going to share an order of meatballs?”

“Yes,” Mikey answered.

“Yes, please,” Emma agreed as well.

*********************************

Clay continued to look down at his menu as he decided what he wanted to eat. He was relieved Jason had stopped Mikey from continuing his questions about how Emma and Clay’s relationship worked when Jason was Clay’s boss. Clay wasn’t sure he even had the answers to those questions yet.

The waitress arrived at their table just as they were closing their menus. She took their food and drink orders and headed back to the kitchen.

Once the waitress left the table, Emma smiled. “So, we’ve ordered our food,” she said with a mischievous smile.

“That’s true. We have,” Jason said. “Mikey, you go first.”

Mikey handed a small pink gift bag to Emma. She reached in and pulled out a card. As she tore open the envelope, she grinned at her brother. She laughed at the silly dog picture on the outside of the card, and then read the inside. Putting the card aside, she reached in the bag and pulled out a giftcard holder. 

“Sorry it’s a giftcard and not an actual present,” Mikey apologized. “I don’t have a lot of free time from camp to go shopping.”

“That’s okay,” Emma assured him. “It’s to my favorite shoe store, and you can never have too many shoes.”

“I don’t know if everyone would agree with that,” Jason pointed out.

“Those people would be wrong,” Emma informed him.

Clay laughed. “You do have a lot of shoes,” he said. He had noticed that when Emma stayed at his place this past weekend. Shoes turned up everywhere. A pair of sneakers by the door, flip flops by the couch, some other pair with lots of straps in the bedroom, and when he came home from his spin up there was another pair sticking out from under the bed that she had left behind. He wasn’t clear on where they all had come from.

“I like shoes,” Emma stated. “Thank you, Mikey.”

“You’re welcome,” Mikey replied. “I’m glad you like it.”

Emma turned to give her father an expectant look. He smiled and handed her a slightly larger gift bag. 

“Go, Dad,” Emma teased, “you even put it in an actual birthday gift bag with tissue paper. Or did Aunt Naima help you with that?”

“Hey,” he replied, “I picked out that gift bag myself, but if you don’t want it, I can always use it for Mikey’s birthday.” He pretended to take the gift back as he spoke.

“No, no, just kidding,” Emma hastily replied.

“That’s what I thought,” Jason said smugly.

Emma took the bag and made a show of weighing it in her hands. “Hmm, heavier than Mikey’s bag,” she said.

As she placed the bag on the table in front of her, the waitress arrived with their drinks and some bread and dipping oil. They each took their drinks and a small plate for the bread.

After the waitress left, Jason picked up his drink. “Before you open my gift, let’s have a toast to the birthday girl.”

They all picked up their glasses. “Happy belated birthday, Emma, and many more,” Jason said, and they all clinked glasses.

“Thanks, Dad,” Emma said giving them each a smile. “Now,” she continued with anticipation, “back to the present.”

She reached into the bag and pulled out the envelope with her father’s card. She tore this envelope open quickly and pulled out the card. She smiled as she read the front. “To a Special Daughter,” it said. She sighed as she read the inside.

“That’s sweet,” she said putting the card aside with Mikey’s gift. 

Then she grinned as she reached inside the gift bag. Her smile fell away as she pulled out a slightly battered blue velvet jewelry box. She gave her father a tremulous look.

He nodded. “Go ahead and open it,” he said softly.

Emma took a deep breath and slowly opened the box. Inside was a pair of diamond earrings and a gold chain with a matching diamond pendant. She gently touched the pendant with a trembling finger.

“Those were Mom’s,” Mikey said quietly.

“You gave her the necklace when I was born,” Emma said huskily.

“And the earrings when I was born,” Mikey added.

“Yeah,” Jason agreed gently, “but I know she’d want you to have them now, Emma.”

“I--,” Emma started to speak, but then stopped and bit her lip.

Clay wanted to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure what he should do. Before he could make a decision, Emma turned to him. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and it broke his heart just a little. She gave him a little push, asking him to slide out of the booth. He did, and she slid across the seat and out to go to her father.

“Hey now,” Jason said as he pulled Emma close in a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Em, and I know your Mom would be too if she were here.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” Emma said as she lifted her head from his shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” Jason replied as he pushed some of Emma’s hair behind her ear. “I know they’ll look just as beautiful on you as they did on your Mom.”

Clay smiled as he watched Jason and Emma. Since joining Bravo Team Clay had come to see how much Jason Hayes loved his children, which wasn’t something anyone would associate with his fearsome reputation as a SEAL. Being a SEAL made being a good father challenging, and Clay knew Jason and his kids hadn’t always had perfect relationships, but Jason had been willing to put his kids first and stop being an active duty SEAL when they needed him. Certainly, that hadn’t been something Ash Spenser was willing to do for his son. Clay had to admit that deep down he was a little jealous of the connection Emma and Mikey shared with their father.

Emma gave her father one last hug and then moved back to slide into the booth again. Clay slipped in beside her, putting his arm around Emma as he did so. She was still a little emotional and she leaned into Clay’s side as he settled in next to her. Clay turned in his seat to hold her close.

“You okay?” He asked quietly.

Emma nodded. She was still holding the open jewelry box, and Clay looked down at the earrings and necklace.

“They’re beautiful,” he said.

“My Mom always wore them when she got dressed up,” Emma told him.

“Your Dad’s right,” he said softly. “They’ll look beautiful on you.”

Emma tilted her head up to look at Clay. “Thank you,” she whispered with a little smile.

He returned her smile and instinctively went to give her a kiss, but stopped before doing so, remembering that Jason was sitting right across from them. Instead he gave her a little squeeze with the arm he still had around her shoulders. Emma’s smile widened just a little and Clay figured she knew exactly what he had just meant to do.

There was an awkward moment of silence at the table until Mikey gave a little cough and then teasingly spoke. “So, doesn’t Clay have a birthday present for you?”

Emma turned to her brother and gave him a grateful look. “He gave me my present on my actual birthday,” she said using the same teasing tone. “Unlike some people.”

Mikey laughed. “I’m a busy guy, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Emma kidded, “you’re in demand.”

Clay and Mikey both laughed. 

“I am!” Mikey insisted. 

“Uh huh,” Emma agreed, sounding just a little sarcastic.

“Do we get to know what this present was?” Mikey asked.

“He gave me tickets to see Lady A when they come to Virginia Beach in August,” Emma replied with a smile for Clay.

“That’s a good gift for you,” Mikey said.

“Yeah, it is,” Emma agreed. “I can’t wait to go.”

Clay smiled at Emma, then said, “But now I know about the shoe thing thanks to Mikey, so I’ll have some ideas for the future.”

The three of the them laughed together, not noticing how quiet Jason had been.

*******************************

Jason watched Emma slide back into her seat in the booth. He knew giving her Alana’s jewelry was going to be emotional for them, but he had wanted to do it for a while. When Alana had first passed away, he had put her jewelry away in a lock box and ignored it. Just looking at the items had been too much for him and he didn’t think Emma was ready to see them either. Recently, however, he had felt it was time for Emma to have some pieces, particularly as she was reaching an age where she might attend events that would call for dressing up. He hadn’t expected it to be quite this difficult though, for himself or Emma.

As Clay settled back into his seat next to Emma, Jason noticed the younger man put his arm around her. Emma leaned into Clay’s side and he tilted his head down to speak softly to her. Jason listened as Clay comforted Emma by discussing the jewelry with her. When Emma looked up into Clay’s face, Jason could have sworn the kid was going to kiss her, but he didn’t. More shocking for Jason though was the naked look of tenderness on Clay’s face as he looked down at Emma. Seeing that expression stunned Jason as he realized his rookie was in love with his daughter.

Shit! This was not how this whole dating situation was supposed to go. They were supposed to go out a few times and then Emma would figure out that dating a guy on the teams was even more challenging than having a father on them. Clay would realize that he didn’t have much in common with a girl almost seven years younger than him. Then they would go their separate ways, no harm, no foul. There weren’t supposed to be any feelings involved.

Of course, with Spenser things never went the way they were supposed to. Of course, the kid would go and develop feelings. Jason should have known Clay was ripe for falling in love. Stella had been gone for almost two years, once she realized she couldn’t hack being with a SEAL. That user Rebecca disappeared last winter, once Clay realized she was only in it for herself. For all his tough SEAL exterior, underneath Clay was still that little kid abandoned by his parents, looking for someone to love him.

Jason had no idea what Emma was feeling. She was very good at keeping her thoughts and feelings to herself when she wanted to. What would happen when Emma went back to NYU in the Fall? He had been worried about Clay hurting Emma, but now he had to be concerned that she would break Clay’s heart. That was just what he needed, a brokenhearted Clay to nurse through deployment this Fall, with his daughter having done the heartbreaking.

He grabbed his glass of beer off the table and drained it. Jason had been so wrapped up in his revelation about Clay’s feelings for Emma, he had lost track of the conversation at the table. Mikey was saying something was a good gift for Emma, and then Clay was teasing Emma about her love of shoes. 

The waitress chose that moment to arrive at the table with their meals. Jason was relieved as he didn’t want the kids to realize anything was wrong. Shit! He was thinking of Clay as one of the kids now. This just got worse and worse.

The waitress served them each their meals and asked Jason if he wanted another beer. Thinking of the roundtrip drive he need to make to Chesapeake later to drop off Mikey, he told her water would be fine.

Conversation dwindled as they enjoyed their meals. The waitress came back with Jason’s water and another soda for Mikey. Jason decided he needed to get back to acting as if this was any normal birthday dinner and ignore for now what he had seen earlier this evening.

“How’s your fettucine, Em?” He asked.

“Delicious,” Emma replied happily. “Just like always.”

“Mikey, Clay,” he continued, “how are your meals?”

“Good, thanks,” Clay answered.

“Great, Dad,” Mikey responded. “Pizza is always good.”

“How’s your meal, Dad?” Emma asked.

“It’s good,” he said with a smile for Emma. “Just like always.”

Emma smiled back at him and ate another bite of her fettucine.

As they continued to eat, one of the owners of the restaurant stopped by their table. Jason and Alana had been coming to Lorenzo’s with the kids since they were small. Their regular visits had made them familiar to the family who had owned and run the place since it opened in the 1960s.

“Well, if it isn’t the Hayes family back again,” Larry commented. “How are you all this evening?”

“Hey, Larry,” Jason replied, “we’re doing well. How are you and the family?”

“I’m good. We’re all good,” Larry answered. “What’s the occasion this time? Someone’s birthday?”

“A belated birthday dinner for Emma,” Jason said.

“Ah, well, happy belated birthday, Emma,” Larry said.

“Thank you,” Emma answered.

Larry’s eyes moved from Emma to Clay. “You,” he said, looking at Clay, “are not a Hayes.”

“No,” Clay replied with a friendly smile. “I’m not. Clay Spenser.”

“Nice to meet you Clay Spenser,” Larry replied.

“He’s Emma’s boyfriend,” Mikey interjected.

Emma blushed and the tips of Clay’s ears turned red.

Larry smiled. “Well,” he said to Clay, “look out for Jason here. He won’t stand for any funny business with his daughter.”

Emma turned even redder.

“Oh, I know,” Clay responded.

“That’s good,” Larry said. “Now you all enjoy the rest of your meal, and we’ll have some tiramisu for you for dessert.”

“Thanks, Larry,” Jason said with a smile.

“Good seeing you again, Jason,” Larry answered. “You all take care.”

They all returned to their meals and conversation slowly picked up again. Mikey told them a bit about what he was doing at hockey camp, and Emma had some funny stories about things that had been happening at the hotel. Clay and Emma talked about their dinner with Ray and Naima the previous Friday, and Jason told them a funny story about helping Ray try to build RJ’s crib.

Eventually the waitress came back with slices of tiramisu for them. Emma’s had a candle in it.

“No one’s going to sing Happy Birthday?” Clay asked.

“Not if they know what’s good for them,” Emma muttered.

“Uh uh,” Mikey said.

“Emma doesn’t appreciate being sung to in the restaurant,” Jason said with a laugh.

Clay nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The waitress brought the check and Jason paid, giving a Clay a hard look when he tried to contribute some money.

“All set?” Jason asked. “We should get going so I can get Mikey back to camp before it gets too late.”

They all headed to the door and stopped outside the restaurant to say their goodbyes.

“Thanks, Mikey, for the giftcard,” Emma said as she gave her brother a hug.

“You’re welcome, Em,” he replied.

“Good luck at your scrimmage tomorrow, Mikey,” Clay added.

“Thanks, Clay,” Mikey responded, bumping fists with him.

“Thank you, Dad, for dinner,” Emma said. “And for the jewelry.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo,” he said, giving Emma a hug.

“Thanks for dinner, Jason,” Clay said, reaching out to shake Jason’s hand.

“You’re welcome,” Jason replied. “See you at the base tomorrow.”

Emma and Clay started walking to Clay’s truck and Jason and Mikey watched them go. Once they reached the truck, Clay opened the door for Emma and helped her in. Then he walked around to the driver’s side and got it.

As he watched Clay start up the truck and pull it out of the space, Jason decided he needed to have a conversation with Ray about this situation. Clay and Emma had dinner last Friday night with Ray and Naima, so Ray might have some insight into what was going on. In Jason’s experience, Ray always had some insight into interpersonal situations like this. If it weren’t for the drive to Chesapeake with Mikey, Jason would go over there tonight, but it would have to wait. Not too long though, Jason thought. He needed to figure this out.

“Ready to go, Mikey?” Jason asked turning to his son.

“Yeah, Dad,” Mikey said with a yawn.

“Let’s get you back to camp then,” he said as they began walking to Jason’s truck.

**************************

“That wasn’t as bad as I expected,” Emma said as Clay climbed into his truck.

“What did you expect?” Clay asked with a laugh.

“I don’t know,” Emma said thoughtfully. “Dad being more tense, I guess.” 

Clay nodded as he backed the truck out its space.

“I guess I owe Hannah twenty bucks though,” Emma said.

“For what?” Clay asked.

“She bet that Dad would run his hands in his hair like he does when he’s stressed in the first half hour,” Emma explained.

That surprised a laugh out Clay. “She was right about that.”

“She also said no kissing around Dad, which you almost did,” Emma teased.

“I caught myself in time,” Clay said with a sheepish grin. “I couldn’t help myself, you were upset,” he added, reaching over to take Emma’s hand in his.

“That’s sweet,” Emma said softy.

He glanced over at her and smiled, then squeezed her hand. 

Emma smiled back at him. She wasn’t sure what her father’s reaction would have been if Clay had kissed her, but she supposed the only thing they could do was continue to have her father see them together so he could adjust to it. She did think her Dad was making an effort. He could have excluded Clay from tonight’s dinner, but he was the one that suggested inviting Clay. 

She became lost in thought as she tried to think of other ways to get her Dad used to her and Clay together.

“You’ve been quiet a while,” Clay eventually commented. “What are you thinking?”

“Just that the only way my Dad will get used to us being together is if we keep doing things like this with him,” Emma replied.

“Yeah,” Clay agreed. “It’s just going to take time for him to see that I’m not trying to take advantage of you and that we’re happy together.”

Clay pulled the truck into the driveway of the hotel and drove around the back to the employee quarters. Once he parked, Emma unfastened her seatbelt and turned to look at Clay.

“It might take a while,” Emma said uncertainly.

Clay reached out and pulled Emma closer to him. “It’s takes however long it takes,” he assured her. “You’re worth it.”

Emma smiled as Clay leaned in and kissed her.


	6. Chapter 6

Jason showed up on Ray and Naima’s doorstep Friday night with some beer and a bottle of Naima’s favorite wine. While they were working out today at the gym, Jason invited himself over to Ray’s, telling his 2IC that there was something he needed to discuss with him. Ray had been ready to talk right then, but Jason told him it was a topic better spoken about off base and that he wanted Naima’s input as well.

Jason and Ray sat out on the Perry’s deck while Naima put the kids to bed. Ray had been trying to get Jason to start talking about whatever was on his mind, but Jason insisted that he wanted to wait until the kids were settled and Naima could join them.

Finally, Naima returned from the kids’ bedrooms. She came out on the deck carrying a tray with some snacks, fresh beers for Ray and Jason, and the bottle of wine with a glass for herself.

“Okay, Jay,” Ray said, “Naima is here. Can you tell me what’s got you stressed out here?”

“It’s Emma and Clay,” Jason said, leaning forward in his chair. 

“What about them?” Ray asked.

“We had Emma’s birthday dinner last night. At Lorenzo’s,” Jason explained. “I included Clay because they’re dating.” Jason emphasized the word dating to indicate his difficulties with that situation.

“That was nice of you,” Naima said blandly as she made quick work of opening the bottle of wine and pouring herself a glass.

“Wasn’t Emma’s birthday almost a month ago?” Ray asked.

“Yeah, but we had to cancel because of a spin up,” Jason explained. “We had a hard time finding a day we were all available again.”

Ray nodded. “So, what’s the problem?”

Jason sighed and leaned back in his chair again. “I gave Emma some of Alana’s jewelry. It was a little emotional.”

“But that’s nice,” Naima said as she settled into one of the lounge chairs. “Alana would be happy to know Emma has her jewelry.”

“Yeah,” Jason agreed. “It’s just, it was hard seeing the jewelry and the kids remembered that I gave the pieces to Alana when they were born.” He paused to take a drink of his beer. “Emma was a little teary.”

“That’s understandable,” Ray said. “I imagine it’s hard for Emma to think about wearing her mother’s jewelry.”

“Yeah, well, she was upset so the kid had his arm around her, and she was leaning into his side, and I swear he was going to kiss her.” Jason paused, reliving the scene from dinner. “He didn’t, but the look on his face… He’s in love with Emma.” Jason exhaled in frustration. “Spenser is in love with my daughter!”

Jason waited for some kind of reaction, but Ray and Naima didn’t respond. They just looked expectantly at him, as if they were waiting for more information.

“You don’t seem surprised,” Jason stated. “Why aren’t you surprised?”

“You just figured this out, brother?” Ray asked in disbelief.

“You’ve known?” Jason questioned, sounding shocked. “How long have you known? Since they were here for dinner last Friday? Why didn’t you say something?”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Ray interrupted Jason’s questions. “First of all, I’ve pretty much known since Clay asked for permission to date Emma, and I didn’t say anything because I thought you knew or at least suspected.”

“Wait, since he asked for permission to date her,” Jason repeated. “How did you know then?”

“Come on, Jason,” Ray said exasperatedly. “Do you really think Clay would have asked if he didn’t? He stood there in front of the entire team and basically declared his feelings. Did you miss that part of the conversation?”

“You really think he was declaring his feelings?” Jason asked in bewilderment.

“She’s smart. She’s beautiful. She makes me laugh. She understands me. Yeah, I think he was declaring his feelings,” Ray said emphatically. “If you asked him then if he was in love with her, he probably wouldn’t have said yes, but he obviously had feelings for her.”

Jason sat quietly as he processed what Ray had just told him.

“Jay, if you didn’t think he was in love with her, why did you give him permission to date her?” Ray asked curiously.

“I figured if I said no it would just make the whole idea of them dating seem more exciting because it was forbidden,” Jason explained. “I thought if I said yes and they actually dated the excitement of the forbidden would fade and they’d realize they didn’t have that much in common and they’d lose interest.”

Naima snorted. She had been very quiet up until this point in the conversation. Both Ray and Jason turned to look at her.

Naima took another sip of her wine and slowly shook her head. “You foolish, foolish man,” she said.

“Why is that foolish?” Jason asked, perplexed at Naima’s response.

“Your theory wasn’t foolish,” Naima explained. “Thinking that it applied in this situation was foolish. Emma and Clay are more mature than that. Neither of them just has some crush.”

Jason gave a frustrated sigh. “She just turned twenty, and he’s almost seven years older than her. How can you be so sure?”

“Jason Hayes, you know Emma better than that!” Naima exclaimed. “Sure, if this had happened when Clay first joined the team when Emma was still in high school, I’d say it was a passing crush. But she barely paid attention to him then, and he certainly didn’t notice her.”

Jason frowned listening to what Naima was saying.

“Emma has had to grow up fast,” Naima continued. “Having a SEAL for a father and losing Alana in high school has put a lot responsibility on her shoulders. She’s much more mature than most young people her age. Do you really see her spending her time with some boy who’s running around pulling fraternity pranks and partying it up at college?”

“No,” Jason sighed, “but that isn’t every guy at college. There must be mature guys at school she could date.”

“I’m sure there are,” Naima agreed, “but she ran into Clay before she ran into one of them.”

“Okay, I get your point,” Jason conceded, “but the kid’s in love with her, so now instead of worrying that he’s going break her heart, I’m worried she’s going to break his. I have no idea what she’s thinking.”

“Have you talked to her about it?” Ray asked.

“We had a conversation right after Clay asked for permission but before they actually went on a date,” Jason answered. “Since then she hasn’t said much, but she wouldn’t because she knows I’m not happy with the situation.”

Ray nodded. “Understandable,” he said, “but I don’t know how else you’ll find out what she’s thinking.”

They were all quiet for a moment, and then Ray and Jason turned again to look at Naima.

“What?” Naima asked, giving them both a hard stare. “I know you two aren’t looking at me because you think I’d tell you anything Emma confided in me.”

Ray immediately dropped his gaze from Naima’s withering look, but Jason did his best to hold up under her scrutiny, figuring he didn’t have to wake up next to her. Finally though, even he couldn’t withstand Naima’s disappointed expression and looked away.

“However…” Naima drawled.

Both men’s gazes snapped back to Naima.

“I will tell you what I think,” she stated. “Jason, are you worried that Emma is going to go back to school this Fall and just dump Clay? That this is some kind of summer fling for her?”

“A little less of the idea that my baby girl is having flings, okay?” Jason replied. “But, yeah, I’m worried she’s going to head back to school with all her new friends and classes and New York things and leave Spenser behind nursing a broken heart.” Jason sighed, then admitted. “But now I’m also worried that this dating thing is going to get too serious. She has three more years of college. As much as I may not love her majoring in music at NYU, that’s been her dream and I don’t want her giving it up for a boy.”

Naima nodded thoughtfully. “I think you’re going to have to accept that this is serious for both Emma and Clay, but that does mean you don’t need to worry that Emma is going to break Clay’s heart because she’s gone back to school and dumped him.”

Jason leaned forward in his chair again, waiting for Naima to continue.

“I also think, no, I know, you and Alana raised a strong, independent young woman,” Naima said firmly. “And I don’t believe she’s the type to throw her dreams aside for a boy.

“I know that,” Jason said softly, “I do, but it’s a hard thing to watch your baby girl replace you. I thought letting her go last year for college was bad, but this is much worse.”

“She’s not replacing you,” Naima said giving Jason a gentle smile. “She could never replace you. I think there are some who might say she chose someone a lot like you.”

“Oh no,” Jason answered swiftly, “let’s not go there.”

Ray chuckled. “I think Naima has point, but I’ll let it slide for now.”

“You will if you know what’s good for you,” Jason threatened.

“Look at the bright side, Jay,” Ray said with a grin, “because it’s Spenser, we can keep an eye on him, make sure he’s treating her right. Much harder to do that if we don’t know the guy.”

Jason rubbed his beard as he considered Ray’s words. “You make a good point, Ray. I can always make him run hills if I need to.”

“You two,” Naima said, shaking her head.

“And,” Ray said with a teasing grin, “when they get married Clay will be your son-in-law and he can call you Dad.”

Jason pointed a finger at his 2IC. “Ray Perry, don’t even—”

“Yes,” Naima agreed before Jason could threaten Ray again. “And just think what beautiful grandbabies they’ll have.”

Jason’s head snapped around to look at Naima. “That’s not even funny, Naima Perry!” Jason exclaimed.

Ray and Naima laughed as Jason blustered at them.

“Let me get you another beer,” Naima said, getting up to head into the house.

“I’ll take something stronger if you have it,” Jason replied with a sigh.


	7. Chapter 7

Clay relaxed on his couch while he waited for Emma to get ready for their evening out. They were going to a popular country bar to meet up with a group of team guys and their wives and girlfriends. The bar was having an eighteen and over night, which meant Emma would be able to get in. The plans had been organized by some of the women Emma met at the SEALs wives and girlfriends book club. 

As far as Clay could tell there was going to be a good size crowd from the teams there tonight. Derek and Trish from across the hall were part of the group along with one of the guys he went through Green Team with who was now on Romeo Team, Greg. Emma had become friends with Greg’s fiancé, Bethany.

Clay was on the fence about this evening’s plans. Going to a country bar, where there was sure to be dancing, wasn’t at the top of his list of fun things to do, but he thought it would be enjoyable for him and Emma to hang out as a couple with Derek and Trish and some of the other guys he knew, along with their dates. He liked that Emma had become friendly with some of the other women. After all the drama about his and Emma’s relationship from some of the older wives who had known Emma growing up, he thought it would be good for them to be a regular couple hanging out with friends.

Just as he was starting to wonder what was taking Emma so long, she walked out of the bedroom while still fastening on a hoop earring. His eyes widened as he took in her appearance. She had on a green silky-looking top that fastened around her neck with a silvery band, leaving her arms and shoulders bare. Along with that she was wearing a short denim miniskirt and brown cowboy boots.

“Wow,” he said as he stood up and walked towards her. “You look…wow.” 

“Thanks,” Emma said, smiling up at him as he wrapped his arms around her.

“You know,” he said, “we could skip the bar and stay here.”

“Uh uh,” she replied, as Clay began placing nibbling kisses on her neck. “We’re going out.”

“You sure?” He asked teasingly, rubbing the back of her thigh just below the hem of her skirt.

“I’m positive,” she said, catching his hand and removing it. “We’re going out.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” he laughed.

“No,” she agreed, “but we’re still going out.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and tugged on his hand to pull him towards the door.

“Okay, okay,” he replied, “let me grab my wallet and keys.”

Clay walked over to the counter between the living room and kitchen and grabbed his things, while Emma picked up her wristlet off the coffee table. They met by the front door and headed out.

*****************************

The bar was already busy when they arrived. Clay and Emma walked through the crowd looking for people they knew. Emma caught sight of Derek and pointed him out to Clay. They headed towards Derek, and she assumed Trish, with Clay making a path through the crowd, towing her along behind.

Emma had been looking forward to tonight ever since Bethany had suggested it. Originally the plan had been for just Bethany and Greg, Trish and Derek, and Emma and Clay to go out together, but once the idea was mentioned at a book club meeting, other members wanted to join them along with their significant others. She also knew there were some women coming on their own because their partner was spun up or deployed. The fact that Greg, Derek, and Clay were all in town and able to make it tonight was actually a little surprising.

Once Clay and Emma joined Derek, they found Trish there with him along with Greg and Bethany. Introductions were made, as Emma had never met Greg and Clay had never met Bethany, and they all settled onto stools around the table. The waitress came by with drinks for Greg and Bethany, who had arrived first and saved the table. She then took orders from the rest of them.

As they all began chatting, Emma noticed some other members of the book club at the next table without their significant others. They exchanged smiles and waves. She had the uncomfortable feeling they were checking her and Clay out. Although some of the women at the table were very nice, she found a couple of them to be not so friendly. According to Bethany, one of them had been interested in Clay when he was single, but he hadn’t shown any interest in return.

Just as the waitress came back with their drinks, a popular song started playing. Bethany convinced Emma and Trish to go dance with her, and they were joined on the dance floor by some of the other women from the book club.

Emma stayed happily on the dance floor for three songs, but then a song she didn’t particularly like came on and she decided to go back to the table and have some of her drink. She hoped the ice hadn’t melted too much as she was hot and thirsty from dancing.

When she returned to the table her stool had been taken, but Clay stood up and let her sit on his. She smiled at him, then sat down and leaned into his side while drinking her seltzer. He slipped his arm around her and rested his hand on her hip as he continued his conversation with Derek and Greg. She listened in for a moment but then tuned out once she realized it was a not so riveting discussion of different gun sights. Instead she began people watching and looking out for other people she knew.

*******************************

Trent wasn’t sure he should have agreed to this night out. Somehow, Brock, of all people, had convinced him and Sonny to go out tonight, and instead of just having a few beers at the Bulkhead they were at a country bar. Brock had explained that a group of guys from the teams, some along with their significant others, were going to be here tonight. Trent thought it sounded like a lot of the younger guys, but Brock insisted that there would be guys they were friendly with too.

Brock was between girlfriends right now, but Trent wasn’t sure if that was the reason his friend had been so interested in going out to this bar instead of their usual. Trent himself was on his own for a few days as his girlfriend was out of town for her job. Sonny was just along for the ride wherever they wanted to go. Trent thought it was because the Texan was just happy to be out with some of Bravo. With Clay spending more of his free time with Emma, Sonny had been deprived of his favorite wingman.

Sonny saw a couple of guys they knew from Romeo Team on the upper level of the bar. They headed that way and were able to grab three stools at the long counter that ran around the upper level, giving them a good view of the tables below and the dance floor. The waitress came by to take their drink orders and they settled in to shoot the breeze with Chuck and Carl, Romeo Two and Three.

Trent listened with half an ear to the story Sonny was embellishing for the other guys, while he looked out over the crowd in the lower level of the bar. On his other side he noticed Brock doing the same.

“See anyone interesting?” He teased Brock.

Brock shook his head. “Picking up women in bars never leads to a long-term relationship,” he replied seriously.

“Who says it has to be long-term?” Trent asked.

Brock chuckled, then seemed to focus on someone in the crowd. “Isn’t that Emma?” He questioned, gesturing down towards the crowd on the dance floor.

Trent looked closely at the area Brock seemed to be focused on. At first as he scanned the crowd, he didn’t see anyone that looked like Emma, but then as he looked again, he saw a blond making her way through the dancers towards the tables by the dance floor. He thought she looked a lot like Emma, but he wasn’t sure if it was her or not as he couldn’t see her face.

“Maybe,” he answered. “Can’t be sure.”

They both watched as the blond continued to make her way through the crowd, aiming towards what looked to be a specific table. Trent turned his gaze to study the occupants of the table.

“It is Emma,” he announced, “because that’s Clay at the table she’s trying to reach.”

Emma finally made her way out of the crowd of dancers and reached the table. He and Brock watched as Clay stood up to let Emma have his stool and then rested his arm around her as she sat and leaned into his side.

“What are you boys lookin’ at?” Sonny asked, interrupting Trent and Brock’s study of the younger couple.

“Clay and Emma are down there at one of the tables,” Brock replied.

Sonny glanced down but didn’t see them.

“At that table by the dance floor,” Brock pointed. “Derek from Alpha is there, and is that, I don’t remember his name, but isn’t he on Romeo with you guys?” Brock asked, raising his voice so Chuck and Carl could hear him.

“Yeah,” Chuck answered. “Greg, he’s a solid guy. Good SEAL.”

“I think he went through Green Team with Clay,” Trent added.

Sonny frowned as he observed Clay and Emma. Trent could read the annoyance on the Texan’s face. As they all watched, Derek’s wife, Trish and another young woman came off the dance floor and joined the group at the table. Emma leaned forward and began chatting with the other women.

“That’s Greg’s fiancé,” Carl interjected. “Nice girl.”

“Didn’t she help you cook dinner for that woman you wanted to impress?” Chuck asked.

“Yeah,” Carl agreed. “The woman ended up not being worth it, but the dinner was great.”

Chuck laughed and he and Carl drifted into a conversation about Carl’s most recent failed relationship.

Sonny, Trent, and Brock continued to observe Emma and Clay at the table below them. Emma was still chatting with the women, but they had drawn the men into their conversation. The guys watched as Clay began to shake his head and hold up his hands in front of himself as if in surrender. The rest of the group laughed, and Emma leaned over and gave Clay a kiss on the cheek.

Trent smiled seeing how much the couple was enjoying themselves, but he could feel the tension radiating off of Sonny. Trent appreciated Sonny’s protectiveness towards Emma. They all felt it. He still remembered the first time he met Emma. She was twelve years old and he had been drafted to Bravo a few months before. Jason and Alana were having a barbecue at their home and as the rookie, Trent came early, along with a few cases of beer he owed, to help set up.

Jason sent him into the yard to put out some tables and chairs. As he walked out on the deck, he saw a little blond girl curled into the corner of one of the lounge chairs. She looked as if she might have been crying before he arrived.

“Hi,” he said cautiously, not sure if she expected any company. “I’m Trent, from your Dad’s team.”

“Hi,” she replied shyly. “I’m Emma.”

“Hi, Emma,” he said, as he started unfolding a bunch of chairs. “Everything okay?” He asked.

She was silent for a moment and he thought she wasn’t going to tell him anything.

“It’s not fair!” She burst out. “Just because I’m older, I’m supposed to be nice to Mikey and not be mad at him, but it’s not fair that he can come in my room and break my things! I don’t break his things. He shouldn’t come in my room. It’s just not fair!”

Trent smiled to himself, keeping his reaction from Emma. He suspected that speech had been waiting to be vented for a while.

“That must be frustrating,” he said mildly.

“It is,” she agreed. “He shouldn’t break my things.”

“No,” Trent said with a nod. “What did he break?”

“My bunny,” Emma confided. “I don’t play with it anymore,” she added immediately. “It’s from when I was a baby. My grandma gave it to me, so it’s special. I keep it on my bed, and Mikey tried to take it.”

He thought Emma looked like she might cry again, but he hoped not. He didn’t have a lot of experience with kids, and he definitely didn’t know what to do about ones that were crying.

“Maybe your bunny could be fixed,” he suggested.

“Maybe,” she replied quietly. 

He watched as she slid over a little on the lounge chair and reached into the corner between her hip and the arm rest, pulling out a well-loved looking, white, stuffed bunny. He moved closer and sat on the end of the lounge chair as she held the bunny out to him in one hand, while in the other she clutched what looked like one of the bunny’s arms.

Gently taking the bunny from Emma, Trent felt honored that she trusted him with what was obviously something very important to her. He examined the stuffed rabbit, clearly seeing where the arm had been torn away. It seemed to have been pulled off cleanly at the seam, and he believed it would be an easy fix to stitch the arm back onto the bunny’s body.

“You know,” he began, “on your Dad’s team, I sometimes give people stitches when they get, um, a cut.”

He had started to say stabbed, then quickly changed to a cut as he realized that knife wounds might not be the best thing to mention to his team leader’s daughter. However, the little girl seated in front of him wore a very adult and knowing look, convincing him that she knew very well that those stitches were for things much more serious than a cut. It broke his heart a little to think about this little girl being aware of the terrible things that could happen on their missions.

He cleared his throat and continued. “I could give your bunny some stitches and get his arm fixed right up.”

“Really?” Emma asked hopefully.

“Really,” he confirmed with a smile. “I just need a needle and some thread.”

“I know where Mom keeps her sewing things,” she said happily, hopping up from the chair and darting into the house.

A few minutes later, Emma returned carrying a small basket of sewing notions. She settled back into the corner of the lounge chair and flipped open the cover on the basket. Inside she found a spool of white thread and a packet of needles.

“There are different size needles in this package,” she said, holding the packet out to him.

Trent opened the envelope of needles and selected the one he thought would handle the thickness of the bunny’s material. Then he took the white thread and threaded it through the eye of the needle. Making sure he had enough thread he began reattaching the bunny’s arm. The stitches were less like the work of a seamstress and more like the stitches Trent would use to sew up one of his brothers, but they did the job. Soon the bunny had his arm firmly back on his body, maybe not like new but definitely looking a lot better than he had been.

Trent tied off the last stitch and handed the stuffed bunny back to Emma. Her face lit up with happiness as she examined the bunny’s newly repaired arm. She smiled gratefully at Trent and hopped up from the lounge chair.

“Thank you, Uncle Trent!” She exclaimed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I have to go show Mom,” she added, then dashed off into the house, bunny cradled in her arms.

He smiled as he watched her go. He was Uncle Trent now.

That was the moment when he realized how much of a family Bravo Team was, not just the guys on the team, but their wives and kids too. That day he became Uncle Trent to Emma and Mikey and then later to Ray’s kids as well, and he would protect any one of them, with his life if he had to. But Emma was the first, with that look on her face when she thanked him and called him Uncle Trent, she had snuck right into his heart and made a home.

He completely understood Sonny’s reaction to Clay wanting to date Emma. Trent’s own initial response was the same. That day on the C-17 when Clay asked Jason for permission to date Emma, Trent, like everyone else, immediately assumed Clay was taking advantage of her. Then Clay’s anger at their assumption made Trent think. He trusted Clay with his life, and he knew Clay was an honorable man. Therefore, he had to believe he could trust Clay with Emma.

Yes, there was an age difference, but Trent didn’t think it was that much of an issue. Sure, if Emma were young for her age, the difference might have been a problem, but he also thought that Clay wouldn’t be interested in Emma if she weren’t so mature for her age. Standing here now, remembering that knowing, adult look on twelve-year-old Emma’s face, Trent knew she would understand so much more about who Clay was and what being a SEAL meant to him. 

Clay needed that. He needed someone who understood him, and he needed someone who loved him. One thing Trent had learned early on about Clay was that the kid’s cockiness hid a bone deep fear that he wasn’t good enough. His parents’ abandonment of him as a child had screwed with the kid’s head, leaving him with a lot to prove and a tendency to fall in love too fast. That inclination had meant Clay was ready to commit to Stella before she even knew what it meant to be in a relationship with a SEAL. Emma knew what being a SEAL meant, both to the men who did the job and for their loved ones who had to live with it. Trent was sure he could trust Emma with Clay.

Lost in his thoughts, Trent had missed seeing Clay and Emma head onto the dance floor for a slow dance, but Sonny’s bristling reaction brought Trent out of his contemplation. He followed Sonny’s gaze to the middle of the dance floor. A slow song was playing, and there were Emma and Clay slowly swaying to the music. Emma had her arms around Clay’s neck and his arms were around her waist. They seemed to be in their own little world out there. Emma was looking up into Clay’s face as she spoke to him. He smiled at whatever she said and leaned down and kissed her.

Trent smiled. Next to him, Brock did the same. Sonny, on his other side, however, was not happy to observe the interplay. Trent suspected that if they hadn’t been on the floor above the couple, Sonny would have thrown himself bodily at Clay.

“Look at him!” Sonny snarled. “He needs to keep his hands, and his lips, to himself!”

“Sonny, they’re dating,” Brock said reasonably.

“Hmph, dating,” Sonny muttered. “What was Jay thinkin’ when he said okay to that?” He shook his head. “Emma’s not old enough to be datin’ Spenser.”

“Sonny, what do you think she’s doing at school?” Trent asked.

Sonny leveled a narrow-eyed gaze at Trent. “What are you tryin’ to say?” He growled.

“I’m saying,” Trent stated patiently, “that Emma has been living in New York, on her own, for the last year. I’m sure she was dating while she was there, and we don’t know anything about those guys.”

Sonny frowned but had no response.

“Clay’s only about six and a half years older than Emma,” Brock pointed out. “When he’s thirty-six, she’ll be thirty,” he added. “That’s hardly a big deal.”

“But she’s not thirty,” Sonny grumbled. “She’s twenty.”

“You’re right. She’s twenty,” Trent stated. “Not twelve.” He paused a moment, then added, “Alana was married to Jason at twenty.”

“Yeah, but, but…,” Sonny sputtered. “Look! Look at them!”

Trent and Brock looked back down on the couple. Emma was now resting her head on Clay’s shoulder, and he had his chin resting against her head. Trent thought they looked like any other couple in love. No one had actually said anything other than that Clay and Emma were dating, but it was apparent to him that this was much more serious than casual dating.

He turned to Sonny and let out a frustrated sigh. “Yeah Sonny, look at them,” he ordered. “Look at THEM, not his hands or lips or whatever. It’s pretty obvious to anyone with eyes in their head that they’re in love.”

Brock nodded in agreement and so did Chuck and Carl, who had been following the conversation with interest.

“You’ve been so caught up in the idea that Emma’s too young and that Clay’s taking advantage,” Trent explained, “that you haven’t been paying attention to what’s actually going on here.”

Trent had reached the end of his patience. Sonny was a good guy and a great operator, but he could be like a dog with a bone when he made a judgement about something. He just wouldn’t see any other viewpoint.

“Think about it,” Trent commanded. “When have you ever seen Clay this happy? And I don’t just mean tonight. All summer his whole attitude has been better. He’s been more focused, and he’s really been content. That’s because of Emma.”

“Trent’s right,” Brock interjected. “He hasn’t given us any of that cocky, know-it-all shit lately either.”

“And Emma,” Trent continued as if Brock hadn’t spoken, “I assume she’s happy at school, but when is the last time you’ve seen her looking as happy as she’s been tonight? I can’t remember, not since before Alana died, I’m sure. Clay makes her happy.”

Trent gave Sonny a piercing look, hoping that his words were getting through to the Texan. “You need to get over it, Sonny,” he stated bluntly. “Because this,” he added gesturing to Clay and Emma on the dance floor, “this isn’t going away. And if you keep going on like this, with this attitude, you’re going to push Clay away. If you force him to, he’s going to choose Emma over you.”

Trent stopped speaking, worried now that he’d gone too far, but he didn’t know how else to get through to the hard-headed Texan. Sonny looked shocked by Trent’s words, but didn’t say anything in response.

“If you trust Clay with your life in the field, don’t you think you should trust him with Emma at home?” Trent asked quietly.

Sonny began to respond, but then stopped. He shook his head. Trent could clearly see how frustrated Sonny was, but he didn’t know what else he could say to appease his brother. Sonny needed to accept Clay and Emma’s relationship. If Jason could do it, and it seemed as if he had, then Sonny could too.

“I need another drink,” Sonny finally ground out and then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

“That went well,” Trent said with a sigh.

“He needed to hear it,” Brock said calmly.

Chuck and Carl, who had been interested observers for the entire debacle, looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then Chuck spoke. “Look if Jason Hayes doesn’t have a problem with it, then I expect no one else should either.” 

Carl nodded in agreement.

“Besides,” Chuck added, “Spenser’s a good guy. It’s not like Thirty Mike is looking to date her.”

Trent groaned. “Thanks for that image, Chuck.”

Chuck grinned and flagged down the waitress to order another round.

*************************

Emma sighed as the slow dance came to an end. Clay gave her a squeeze and she smiled up at him. She suspected that Clay wasn’t a big fan of dancing, so she was glad he had asked her to for this slow song. She had enjoyed being in his arms.

Before they could move to leave the dance floor, the DJ came on and announced a two-step. Emma didn’t think anything of it and caught Clay’s hand in hers to head back to their table.

“Wait, Emma,” Clay said. “Do you want to do the two-step?”

She turned to look at him in surprise. “You know how to do the two-step?” 

“I do,” he replied with a pleased smile. “But if you don’t…,” he teased.

“Oh, I know how,” she assured him, “but I think you’ll need to prove to me you can.”

Clay laughed. “Okay, but what do I get when I prove it to you?”

She tilted her head and gave him a considering look. “Hmmm, I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

“Better start thinking,” he said with a grin as the music started. He took her right hand into his left and put his other arm around her and they began to dance.

Emma couldn’t believe Clay knew how to two-step, and he was pretty good at it. As they moved around the floor, he even spun her a few times. She was really enjoying doing this with him and kind of wished the song would go on forever. 

Unfortunately, the song did end, and their two-step was over. She smiled at Clay and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek.

“That was really good,” she said happily.

“Told you I knew how,” he stated smugly.

Emma laughed. “I should have believed you,” she said as they slowly started working their way back to their table.

“You can thank me when we get home,” he leaned down and said in her ear.

She lifted an eyebrow at him. “We’ll see,” she replied.

**************************

Clay smiled at Emma as they approached the table where their friends were. He really wasn’t a fan of dancing but learning the two-step had been worth it just to see how happy it made Emma now. He hadn’t danced it in a few years, more than a few actually, so he was pleased that he hadn’t stepped on her feet or anything.

“Well, well, someone’s light on his feet,” Derek teased as they arrived back at the table.

“Didn’t learn that at BUD/S,” Greg added with a grin.

Clay groaned to himself. He should have realized how much shit the guys were going to give him for this.

“I thought it was great,” Trish said excitedly.

“Yeah,” Bethany agreed. “I wish we could have been able to do that,” she added with a pointed glance at Greg.

“Thanks for that,” Greg muttered to Clay.

“No problem,” Clay said with a chuckle.

A waitress was at the next table and he caught her eye. He was ready for another beer.

“Another round?” He asked the others as the waitress came over.

They all ordered drinks and as the waitress headed off, Brock, Trent and two guys from Romeo Team arrived at their table.

“Hey Twinkle Toes!” Trent greeted Clay.

Clay frowned. He didn’t realize anyone from Bravo was here. The rest of the team would definitely be hearing about his dancing now.

“Hey Trent, Brock,” he replied. He gave a nod to the two guys from Romeo. He didn’t know them that well.

The others said hello as well, and introductions were made as needed. With such a large group now, different conversations broke out. Emma and Bethany were chatting, and Carl joined them. Bethany laughed as Carl made a comment about cooking, and then she began telling Emma why.

“Hey, Clay,” Brock said with a smile, “didn’t know you were a dancer.”

“What can I say?” Clay responded. “I’m a man of many talents.”

Trent and Brock laughed at his answer, but Emma turned from listening to Bethany and leaned across from Clay’s other side, giving them a stern look.

“I liked it,” she said firmly, daring them to say any more.

Trent and Brock immediately stopped laughing.

Clay smiled to himself. Emma could definitely give Naima a run for her money when it came to putting fear into the hearts of Bravo Team members.

“Have you been here long?” Clay asked Trent and Brock once Emma turned back to her conversation with Bethany and Carl.

“Maybe an hour or so,” Brock replied.

“We were upstairs for a while with Chuck and Carl,” Trent said. “We saw Emma from up there and realized you both were here, so we came by to say hello before we head out.”

“Stay for a while,” Clay suggested. “We just ordered another round so the waitress should be back soon. You can order another beer too.”

“Thanks,” Trent answered with a grin, “but we’ll leave the country bar and dancing to you kids.”

“Besides, I may or may not have a picture of you dancing that I need to share with Ray and Jason,” Brock teased.

“You guys are not going to let that go, are you?” Clay asked with a sigh.

“Nope,” Brock stated.

“Definitely not,” Trent added.

The waitress returned with their drinks, and Trent, Brock and Chuck said their goodbyes. Carl ordered another beer and stayed. Clay thought Carl seemed to be having some kind of crazy conversation with Emma and Bethany about cooking, and he decided he needed to listen in.

The rest of the evening flew by with more beers and for the women more dancing. At times some other SEALs came by their table as well as some other women that Emma seemed to know from the book club. Finally, Clay and Emma decided to head home as the crowd and the noise had started to be too much. Greg and Bethany had left a little earlier, so Clay and Emma said goodbye to Trish and Derek, waved to some other people they knew at nearby tables, and headed out.

*************************

When they returned home, Clay grabbed each of them a glass of water in the kitchen and settled on the couch. After kicking off her cowboy boots, Emma joined him there, curling into his side and resting her head on his chest.

“That was fun,” Emma said.

“It was,” Clay agreed, taking a sip from his glass. After he swallowed, he added, “I wasn’t sure if I’d like the bar, with all the dancing going on.”

“But you can dance!” Emma said in surprise. “You did the two-step with me.”

“Yeah, but I’m not really a dancer,” he said dismissively, as he placed his glass on the end table. “That was just something I picked up a while ago.”

Emma wrinkled her nose as she tried to figure out what Clay meant by that. As she laid there thinking, Clay chuckled to himself. She smiled, realizing that he was a little more relaxed once he had a few drinks.

“What’s so funny?” She asked curiously.

“I was thinking about how I learned the two-step,” Clay replied.

“Oh, there’s a story here,” Emma said, lifting her head off his chest to look him in the eye. “Tell me, please.” She added the big eyes to help convince him.

Clay grinned. “Okay, when I was still with team three, we were stationed on the West Coast, and my friend Brian…” Clay paused after he said Brian’s name.

Emma rested her head back on Clay’s chest and gave him a hug. “Your friend from Green Team that died in the training accident?” She asked gently.

“Yeah,” Clay said softly. He brought his hand up and stroked Emma’s hair. They both sat quietly for a moment, then Clay continued. “There was a bar near the base that had theme nights, I guess you’d call it. One night was country music, and there would be dancing. Brian thought we should learn to do the two-step. I told him he was crazy.”

“Why did he think you should learn the two-step?” Emma prodded, wanting Clay to continue the story.

“He thought it would be…,” Clay started, but then his voice turned into a mumble.

“What did you say?” Emma asked.

“He thought it would be a good way to pick up women,” Clay rattled off quickly.

Emma started laughing.

Before she could ask any more questions, Clay continued the story. “I kept saying I didn’t want to learn, but he would not let it rest, until finally I gave in.”

“And how did you learn?” Emma said, sitting up and doing her best to hold back more laughter.

“Brian asked a woman he met at the bar to teach us.” Clay answered, shaking his head. “She had us over to her apartment and she gave us lessons.”

“Oh,” Emma said with a big grin, “I would have paid good money to see that.”

“Hey! I was a quick study!” He exclaimed. Then he pulled her closer and added with a suggestive look, “I have great rhythm, you know.”

“Do you?” She replied leaning in even closer.

“I do,” he whispered and began kissing her.

“Mmm, wait,” she said, breaking off the kiss. “Did it work? Did you pick up a lot of women?”

Clay sighed, giving her an exasperated look. “Brian dated the woman that gave us lessons for about six months,” he replied. “Her name was Janine, I think.”

“But did you impress the ladies at country night with your mad two-stepping skills?” Emma teased.

“You were impressed,” Clay retorted.

“It’s true. I was,” she agreed. “I think Trish and Bethany were impressed too.”

He groaned. “Derek and Greg are never going to let me live that down, never mind the rest of Bravo.”

Emma giggled. “Well, Derek and Greg were jealous of how admiring Trish and Bethany were. Of course, you can always tell them all it was only a ploy to pick up women.”

“That could work,” Clay agreed.

Emma cuddled into Clay’s side again. “I liked dancing with you like that. I’m glad Brian convinced you to learn,” she confided, tilting her head up to give him a kiss on his jaw.

“I liked it too,” Clay said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

They both laid there peacefully for a moment. “Brian was always full of plans like that,” Clay said softly, breaking the silence. “Sometimes they were for trivial stuff, like learning the two-step, but other times they were for things like improving our fitness and tracking it so we would get selected for Green Team.” Clay shook his head. “He would just announce out of nowhere, ‘Clay, I have an idea.’ And then I knew to be ready for anything.”

“I wish I had met him,” Emma said wistfully.

“He would have liked you,” Clay assured her.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

Emma sat up and gently kissed Clay on the lips. He slipped his arms around her, pulling her closer to lie against his chest and their kiss grew in intensity. One of Clay’s hands slid down her back and continued lower to toy with the hem of her miniskirt. Then his hand moved under the hem and caressed her backside.

“Emma!” He exclaimed, pulling back from their kiss. “You’ve been walking around all night in this tiny skirt with a thong on under it?”

“Yes,” she replied with a pleased smile. “Is that a problem?”

“A problem?” Clay repeated. “You drive me crazy; you know that?”

“That’s good because you drive me crazy too,” she replied, then leaned in and began kissing him again. They continued for a while until Emma broke off the kiss and whispered, “So I hear you have good rhythm.”

“It’s true,” Clay agreed with a little grin. “I could give you a demonstration if you want.”

“I’d like that,” she replied.

Clay smiled and stood up from the couch, swinging a laughing Emma up in his arms and carrying her to the bedroom, where he proceeded to give her an enthusiastic demonstration of his rhythm.

*************************

Emma opened the refrigerator looking to see what there might be for breakfast. Clay obviously hadn’t been grocery shopping recently. There did seem to be some eggs. She grabbed the carton to check the date. They were only a week expired.

As she debated whether or not the eggs would still be edible, there was a knock on the apartment door. She frowned as she glanced that way. She wasn’t aware that Clay was expecting anyone. He was still in the shower, and Emma wasn’t sure if she should answer the door. She walked quietly towards it, thinking she would look through the peep hole and see who it was. Before she could, the knock came again. 

“Come on, Clay. I know you’re home,” she heard Uncle Sonny’s voice say. “Open the door.”

Emma sighed. If she answered the door, her wet hair twisted into a bun would let Uncle Sonny know she had spent the night here. She wasn’t embarrassed by that. She was an adult and if she wanted to stay with her boyfriend at his apartment she would, but she also knew that Uncle Sonny was still giving Clay a hard time about dating her. She didn’t want to make things more difficult for Clay.

“Clay, I saw your truck outside,” Uncle Sonny called, while banging on the door again.

He wasn’t going to stop. Quickly unlocking the door, Emma pulled it open, surprising Uncle Sonny on the other side as he raised his hand to knock again.

“Hi, Uncle Sonny,” she said with a cheery smile.

“Emma,” he replied, still looking surprised.

“Come in,” she said, stepping back from the door. “Clay’s in the shower, but he should be out soon.”

“I, uh, okay,” he answered stiffly as he stepped into the apartment.

Emma headed back towards the kitchen and grabbed the carton of eggs off the counter where she had left it. As she returned it to the refrigerator, she made a mental note to ask Clay what eggs he was using if he offered to cook her breakfast anytime soon.

Uncle Sonny was still standing by the door, looking uncomfortable. She realized that finding her here had completely thrown him off.

“Clay’s planning on leaving for the base soon to meet you all for a workout,” she said, breaking the silence.

“Uh, yeah,” Sonny replied. “Your Dad has some whole trainin’ workout thing organized.”

Emma nodded. She thought she heard the water in the bathroom turn on off. “I think he’s done in the shower,” she said. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Before Uncle Sonny could reply, she headed back into the bedroom to let Clay know about their visitor.

**********************************

Sonny began pacing in the small area of Clay’s living room. He still wasn’t sure if coming here was the right idea, and Emma answering the door didn’t help. He did his best not to think about the fact that Emma had most likely stayed here last night.

He had laid in bed all night replaying Trent’s words in his head. Was Clay happier now with Emma? Sonny kept picturing Clay with Emma on the dance floor. The way he smiled down at her when she was talking to him. The way she rested her head on his shoulder when they were dancing. He could hear Trent’s final question for him repeating in his mind. ‘If you trust Clay with your life in the field, don’t you think you should trust him with Emma at home?’

Maybe, maybe Trent was right, but this was Emma. His little Emma. Except she wasn’t little anymore. He didn’t like to think about that. He figured that at this point in his life he was never having kids of his own. Jason and Ray’s kids were the closest thing he was ever going to have for children, and he wasn’t ready for any of them to grow up.

Sonny’s first year on Bravo Team, Jason was still Bravo Two. On one of Jay’s last ops before becoming One, he was stabbed in the side during hand-to-hand combat. The injury was serious, but, once the bleeding was stopped, not life threatening. Then it became infected with some strain of bacteria that was resistant to every antibiotic the docs tried.

Alana was at the end of her rope. Jason, like all of them really, was a terrible patient and in a lot of pain. Having Alana at the hospital with him seemed to be the only thing that kept him in line, but she had a two-year-old and an eight-year-old to take care of as well. Jason’s father was still alive then, but his health was failing, and Jason’s mother couldn’t leave him to come help Alana with the kids. Alana’s parents didn’t seem to be available either, although Sonny had suspected that Alana didn’t want to tell them about the situation.

Sonny had ended up staying at Jason’s and taking care of Emma and Mikey. Even now Sonny was still surprised that Alana had trusted him to take care of her children. He knew part of the reason was that she was desperate. Sonny Quinn was nobody’s first choice to stay with their kids, but Alana put her faith in him. She made him promise that he would watch those kids every minute and not let them get hurt. He could still picture the serious look Alana had on her face when she spoke to him about it. He swore he wouldn’t let her down.

Watching over those children was hard work. He never let anybody say in front of him that moms had it easy, because he knew from experience that it was difficult. Mikey was into everything. You couldn’t turn away from him for one minute, because if you did, that boy was into all kinds of trouble. Emma was a little easier because she could be trusted keep herself busy with books and coloring and the TV, but he could see how scared that little girl was about her daddy. Her sad little face near broke his heart.

One very long day he finally got Mikey to fall asleep in his playpen for a nap. Sonny supposed he should put the boy in his room, but the risk of moving the toddler and waking him was too much. Sonny settled on the couch ready to take a nap himself, when Emma crawled up next him with her stuffed bunny. 

The little girl curled into his side and then whispered, “Uncle Sonny, is my Daddy gonna die?”

“No, no, baby,” he immediately responded. “He’s goin’ to be just fine.”

“Then why doesn’t he come home?” She asked with a sob. “I want him to come home.”

“Oh, baby girl, he’ll be home soon,” he reassured her, lifting her onto his lap. “He just has to stay at the hospital right now so the doctors can give him medicine.”

“Why can’t he have his medicine here?” Emma gasped between sobs. “I want him here.”

“Shh, shh, baby,” he soothed, rubbing the little girl’s back as she cried into his chest. “He’ll be home soon.”

He had rocked Emma in his arms and did his best to comfort her as her sobs slowed and she drifted off to sleep.

How could that little girl that cried in his arms be the same young woman he saw last night kissing Clay Spenser? He wasn’t ready for her to be grown and on her own. How could he keep his promise to Alana?

The bedroom door opened, pulling Sonny from his memories of the past. Clay came into the living room tugging on a t-shirt. Emma followed behind him carrying her purse and a small bag.

“Hey Sonny,” Clay greeted him. “Were we supposed to meet this morning?”

“No, no,” Sonny replied nervously. “I just had somethin’ I wanted to talk to you about.” He glanced at Emma, then continued. “It’s not important though. We can talk another time.”

“Don’t leave because of me,” Emma said. “I need to get going. I have some things to take care of before my shift at the hotel starts.”

“If you’re sure,” Sonny said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your mornin’.”

“You’re really not,” Emma assured him. 

She walked towards the door with Clay following her. 

“You get off at nine tonight, right?” He asked, as he opened the door for her.

Slipping her feet into her flip flops, Emma nodded.

“Okay,” Clay said, “I’ll pick you up then.”

“You don’t need to,” she contended. “I can drive myself.”

“Who knows what crazies are on the road on a Saturday night? I’ll pick you up,” Clay insisted.

“Okay, okay,” she said, shaking her head as she started out the door.

Clay leaned out the door after Emma, and Sonny assumed the kid was giving her a kiss goodbye where he couldn’t see. Sonny agreed with Clay about it being better if Emma didn’t drive herself on a Saturday night in summer in Virginia Beach. All sorts of people out partying. It was good the kid was making sure she was safe.

Clay stepped back into the apartment and shut the door and locked it. He turned and looked at Sonny as if he was waiting for some type of snide comment. Sonny said nothing.

“Want some coffee?” Clay asked, heading for the kitchen.

“Um, yeah, sure,” Sonny agreed.

**************************

Clay grabbed a fresh filter out of the cabinet and the can of coffee grounds. As he began putting everything into the coffee maker, he wondered what exactly Sonny had come to discuss. He kept quiet and continued making the coffee. This was Sonny’s show; Clay figured. He’d wait for Sonny to make the first move.

The coffee was brewing, and Clay pulled some mugs out of the cabinet while he waited. Sonny still hadn’t said anything. Clay started taking care of little chores around the kitchen, wiping up some stains on the counter, putting away some clean dishes from the dishwasher. He didn’t know why Sonny was here but considering the hard time the Texan had been giving him lately, Clay wasn’t going to make this easy.

“I, uh, saw you and Emma at the bar last night,” Sonny finally said, breaking the silence.

“I didn’t realize you were there,” Clay replied. “You didn’t come by the table with Trent and Brock.”

There was finally coffee in the carafe and Clay turned to pour it into the mugs. He was able to use the small task to hide his hurt at learning Sonny was at the bar last night and didn’t even come by to say hello.

“Yeah, Trent and I, um, had some words, I guess you’d say,” Sonny explained.

Clay placed the mugs of coffee on the counter and looked at Sonny in surprise. He knew Sonny could be a hothead, but Trent wasn’t one to get angry for no good reason.

“What did you do?” Clay asked as he sat down on one of his bar stools.

Sonny huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, it’d have to be me that did somethin’ to get Trent upset.”

Clay shrugged. It was true.

“He, uh, was tryin’ to set me straight, uh, ‘bout you and Emma,” Sonny explained.

Well, that explained what Sonny had come by to talk about, Clay thought. He was surprised Sonny actually would talk about it though. Clay’s relationship with Emma was something the Texan usually tried to avoid. If it came up at all when the Team was together, Sonny would immediately change the subject or escape the conversation by doing something else. 

“Did you need to be set straight about me and Emma?” Clay asked curious as to what Sonny’s opinion on that was.

“I guess you could say I did,” Sonny replied. “I been kinda hard on you the last month or so, since you and Emma started datin’.”

Clay didn’t reply as he really couldn’t disagree with that.

“It’s just, when I first came to Bravo, Jason and Alana, they made me a part of their family,” Sonny explained. “Alana trusted me with her kids. Me, Sonny Quinn! Who does that? Sure, Ray or Trent, or even Brock, they’re responsible, but not me.”

“What about me?” Clay asked.

Sonny snorted. “You? Definitely not. You’d be out there with the kids gettin’ into just as much trouble as them, doin’ wheelies on their bikes and all kinds of stunts.”

Clay smiled faintly. Sonny was probably right about that.

“But Alana had me stay at her house and watch Emma and Mikey when Jason was in the hospital. That meant somethin’ to me,” Sonny continued, getting serious again. “Before she let me care for them kids, she made me swear that I wouldn’t let anything happen to them. I can still remember the look in her eye when she told me I needed to watch them every minute. You think Naima can be scary, but she’s nothin’ compared to Alana Hayes when it came to her kids.”

Sonny paused and cleared his throat. “I guess I feel like now that Alana’s gone, I owe it to her to keep watchin’ out for her kids. So maybe I got a little carried away.”

More than a little, Clay thought, but he kept that opinion to himself.

“I get it, Sonny,” he said. “I do, but you have to know I would never take advantage of Emma, or any woman.”

“Yeah,” Sonny replied, “I guess I know in my head that you ain’t like that, but in my heart, I keep seein’ that little girl cryin’ to her Uncle Sonny, afraid her Daddy ain’t never comin’ home from the hospital.”

Clay could understand that. He could see himself having some issues with any boyfriends Jameelah might bring home once she grew up, particularly if they were on the teams, but he needed Sonny to trust him and know that he only wanted the best for Emma. He sighed as he realized the only way he was going to be able to convince Sonny was if he opened up about how he felt. 

Generally, Clay wasn’t comfortable getting close to people or sharing his feelings. The guys on Bravo were probably the closest he’d ever been with anyone besides his grandparents and Brian, but there were definitely things he hadn’t shared with them. Emma was probably the person he had let in the most, and he had only talked to her about Brian for the first-time last night. He just wasn’t one to open up and tell everyone his life story and let his feelings show.

****************************

Sonny frowned as he continued to wait for Clay to say something more. Maybe Clay didn’t understand what Sonny was trying to say. He probably didn’t explain it right. He wasn’t so good with words. He was much better at shooting things or blowing them up. That’s probably what he’d already done to his friendship with Clay; blown it up. But he didn’t know how else he could make Clay understand how important keeping the promise he made to Alana still was. He opened his mouth, ready to try again, when Clay spoke.

“I understand that you feel a responsibility to Alana, but this isn’t casual for me,” Clay said seriously. Then he took a deep breath and looked Sonny straight in the eye. “I love Emma,” he said firmly, paused and continued, “and while I can’t say I’ll never do something stupid in the future that might hurt her, this isn’t just some summer fling, for either of us. I don’t plan on having a little fun with Emma and then moving on to someone else. You have to know that.”

Sonny nodded. “I do know you wouldn’t do that, but besides Alana, it’s just strange that you’re datin’ Jason’s little girl. I don’t know…” His voice trailed off as he tried to figure out how to put in words what he meant.

“Tell me about it,” Clay sighed. “You think I planned on that? Yeah because, you know, living down the legacy of Ash Spenser wasn’t hard enough, I needed to find something to really piss people off, so I went with date my team leader’s daughter.” 

Hearing Clay say that, Sonny realized that maybe he had been _more_ than a little too hard on Clay.

Clay scrubbed his hands through his hair. “That day I ran into Emma in New York, I figured it was just like if I had run into a family member of anyone on the team.” Clay shook his head. “Except it wasn’t.” 

Sonny watched Clay as he stared into the bottom of his coffee cup.

“There was something more there, but I kept ignoring it or pushing it aside, because it was Jason’s daughter. There couldn’t be something more with Jason’s daughter, there couldn’t,” Clay stated. “But she kept drawing me in, making me laugh. You remember that op in Algeria with the kids and those college girls that were going to be sold?”

Sonny nodded. He knew exactly what op Clay was talking about.

“I messaged her after and then she called me back. Emma knew what to say to take my mind off it, to make me laugh.” Clay sighed. “Then she was telling me a story and she mentioned some guy in her music program that had asked her out, and bam, that’s all I could think about. She was trying to make me laugh at some embarrassing thing that happened, and all I could think was, ‘Who is this guy? Who does he think he is asking out my Emma?’”

Clay glanced back at Sonny with an earnest look. “If that guy had been in front of me, I would have punched him, no lie.” Clay sighed again, then continued, “I knew then there was more between us, but I kept pretending to myself that there wasn’t. Until finally, I couldn’t pretend anymore. I figured that no matter how hard Jason could make things, would make things, it couldn’t be any harder than being without Emma.”

Sonny was a little surprised at how much Clay had just told him. The kid had pretty much spilled his guts, which wasn’t like him at all. Sonny felt a little bad now for thinking Clay didn’t have good intentions when it came to Emma.

“Well, kid,” Sonny said apologetically, “I guess I was so hung up on wantin’ to protect Emma, that I wasn’t payin’ attention to how you might be feelin’ in all of this. I’m sorry for that.”

“I appreciate that, Son,” Clay responded. “I really hated that this was affecting our friendship. I was worried that we weren’t going to get past it.”

“I can see where you would be worried,” Sonny said with a grin. “You ain’t so flush in the friend department and losing a great one like me would be bad. I’m the fun one. Without me you’d be stuck with the serious ones, like Brock.”

Clay groaned and rolled his eyes. “It’d be a lot quieter anyway.” He paused then and his tone grew serious again. “I think when the end of August comes and Emma has to go back to New York, I’m going to need you all then.”

“Don’t worry, Blondie,” Sonny assured him. “We’ll be here.” He was quiet for a moment, and then spoke again. “Now, Jason has some big workout planned for this afternoon, and all this girly, talkin’ about our feelings shit has made me hungry. How about we head for the diner down the street and fill up on the lumberjack breakfast? Get ourselves fueled up for the day.”

“Sounds good,” Clay said, grabbing their coffee mugs and putting them into the sink. “I don’t think I have much to eat here.”

“Get movin’ then, kid,” Sonny ordered. “I can smell the bacon already.”

As they headed out the door, Sonny was relieved that he had gotten it over with. He figured that as long as he stayed away from Ray for a while, he could avoid talking about his feelings again for a good long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Emma meets Ash...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of people like to portray Ash as pure evil, and I'm not saying I don't enjoy a good evil villain Ash story because I totally do (please those who write those, keep them coming), but I kind of look at Ash as being more of your general asshole who never should have had kids - self-absorbed, selfish, competitive. And, his relationship with Clay, when Ash bothers to think about his son, as one where he wonders how Clay can be useful to or reflect well on himself. So I kind of look at it as difficult (more for Clay than Ash) because Clay will always want more than Ash can give.

Clay and Emma walked down the street towards the bakery holding hands. People doing their Saturday morning errands crowded the sidewalk, and parking was at a premium. Clay and Emma had left his truck a couple blocks down and were headed to pick up cupcakes for the family celebration of Jameelah’s birthday. 

Emma had received an emergency call from Aunt Naima that morning asking them to take care of the chore on their way over to the Perry house. Uncle Ray had meant to get the cupcakes last night before the bakery closed, but he had forgotten.

“You think Ray’s in big trouble with Naima for this?” Clay asked.

Emma smiled and lifted an eyebrow at him. “Oh, yeah. She sounded pretty stressed on the phone.”

Clay laughed and started to say something else when they heard someone calling Clay’s name. They both turned to see who it was. A gray-haired man Emma thought looked familiar was trying to catch up with them on the sidewalk. 

“Clay.” The man stepped around a family walking behind them, as Clay and Emma moved aside.

“Ash.” Clay’s voice as he spoke was neutral, and Emma studied the man who, it turned out, was Clay’s father. Clay’s detached air left her unsure as to how he felt about this impromptu meeting.

“Clay, son, it’s good to see you. It’s been a while.” 

“Yeah, things have been busy.” Clay didn’t offer any other details.

“Sure, sure.” Ash nodded and glanced at Emma standing by Clay’s side, then gave his son an inquiring look.

Clay frowned and then turned to Emma. “This is my father, Ash Spenser. Ash, this is Emma.”

Ash reached out to shake Emma’s hand. “Just one name, huh?”

Emma released Clay’s hand and shook Ash’s. “Yeah, like Madonna.”

Her response surprised a laugh out of Clay, which he unsuccessfully tried to turn into a cough. Ash looked unsure whether her reply had been a joke or not.

Clay sighed. “It’s Hayes. Her last name is Hayes.”

A faint expression of shock crossed Ash’s face and then was gone. “Ah, any relation to Master Chief Jason Hayes?

Emma’s gaze flickered over to Clay. She decided he wouldn’t have said her last name if he wanted to keep whose daughter she was a secret. “Yes, he’s my father.”

Ash nodded, and there was an awkward pause.

Emma concluded the best thing to do was give them some privacy. “Why don’t I go for the cupcakes while you talk to your father? I’ll meet you back here in a few, okay?”

Clay looked relieved at her suggestion. “Uh, yeah, will you be okay to carry them all?” 

“If I’m not, I’ll text you.” She turned to Ash, who was watching them closely. “Nice meeting you.”

“You too, Emma.” Ash gave her an insincere smile as she stepped away.

* * *

“What the hell are you thinking?” Ash tore into Clay as soon as Emma was out of earshot. “You’re fooling around with your team leader’s daughter? This is just the kind of stupid move I’d expect from you. What do you think is going to happen when Hayes finds out you’re having some fun with his little girl?”

Clay tried to cut Ash off. “That’s not what—"

Ash, however, was on a roll and wouldn’t let him get a word in edgewise. “Sure, she’s a looker, but think, Clay! You’re a Tier One operator. Are you going to throw that away for a piece of tail?”

At that comment, any hesitation Clay had over making a scene on the street disappeared. He grabbed Ash by the collar and pushed him up against the side of the nearest building. “Shut your mouth. Do not speak about her like that ever again. Do you hear me?”

Eyes wide, Ash nodded, and Clay released his grip on his father’s shirt. “Just because sneaking around behind people’s backs is the kind of thing you would do; it doesn’t mean I would. Jason knows Emma and I are together. And it’s not some fling.”

Tugging his shirt back into place, Ash stepped from between the wall at his back and Clay’s furious presence in front of him. “Son, I was only—”

“You know what? I don’t want to hear it. Nothing you have to say interests me right now.” Clay stalked off, leaving Ash to stare after his son.

* * *

As she paid for the cupcakes, Emma saw Clay enter the bakery. His stormy expression convinced her the conversation with his father hadn’t gone well. He joined her at the counter as the cashier gave her the receipt.

He gestured to the large bakery box another staff member placed on the counter. “Are these ours?”

“Yeah, could you grab them, please?” She stuffed the receipt and change into her wallet.

Together they walked to the door, and Emma opened it for him to exit with the box.

“Everything okay?” She was curious about his conversation with Ash.

“No, not really.” Clay didn’t elaborate on that statement.

"Do you want to talk about it?” Emma winced as soon as those words came out of her mouth. She thought it was obvious he didn’t want to talk about it.

Clay took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, while continuing to stare straight ahead. “No. I want to go and enjoy Jameelah’s party without my asshole of a father ruining it.”

“Okay.” She reached over and gently squeezed his arm.

They finished their walk back to the truck in silence.

* * *

Ray opened his front door before Clay and Emma even reached it. “Thank God you’re here with those cupcakes. Naima’s ready to kill me.”

“Hi Uncle Ray. Good to see you too.” Emma kidded as they all entered the house.

“Tease me later. Right now, get the cupcakes to Naima in the kitchen.”

Emma chuckled at how anxious he was over the situation. She and Clay continued through the house to the kitchen while Ray headed off to take care of other tasks. “Aunt Naima, we’re here with the cupcakes.”

“Oh sweetie, thank you both so much for stopping to pick them up. You really saved the day.” Naima began rearranging to make space on the counter. “Let me move these dishes and things out of the way, and you can put the box here.”

As Naima relocated items, Jameelah came into the kitchen. “Ooh, are those the Moana cupcakes?” She was vibrating with excitement.

Naima looked up at her daughter. “Maybe you could say hello to our guests? And thank you for picking up the cupcakes.”

Jameelah threw her arms around Clay’s waist to hug him and almost hit the box with her head. Clay lifted it quickly, saving the baked goods. “Thank you, Uncle Clay, for getting the cupcakes for my party.”

Clay smiled briefly down at Jameelah. “You’re welcome, kiddo. Emma helped too.”

Emma gave Naima a sardonic look. “I helped.”

Naima laughed, and Jameelah turned and threw her arms around Emma’s waist. “Thank you too, Aunt Emma.”

Emma gave Jameelah a squeeze in return. “When did I become Aunt Emma?”

“Well, you’re Uncle Clay’s girlfriend, and he’s in love with you, and you’re in love with him, so that makes you Aunt Emma.” Jameelah was very serious as she explained her reasoning.

Naima’s lips twitched as she held back a laugh. Then she smiled as she saw Clay’s cheeks turn pink while he was placing the cupcake box onto the counter.

Emma nodded thoughtfully as she looked down into the little girl’s face. “Hmm, I can’t disagree with your logic, Jameelah.”

Ray carried a cooler into the kitchen just in time to catch Jameelah’s explanation and Emma’s response. He grinned at Naima. “Clay, brother, can you give me hand on the deck with the ice and drinks?”

“Sure.” Looking relieved to leave the kitchen, Clay followed Ray out the sliders.

Once the men left, Naima chuckled and tousled Jameelah’s hair. “Jameelah, why don’t you go get your hairbrush, and we’ll go in the living room and do your hair before everyone arrives.”

Jameelah headed out of the kitchen but stopped at the door. “Aunt Emma, could you French braid my hair, please?”

“Sure, if it’s okay with your Mom.” Emma looked to Naima

“If you don’t mind, that would let me get some other things done.” Naima responded as she went back to putting chips, dip, salsa, and other snacks into bowls.

Emma turned back to Jameelah. “Grab your brush and some elastics, and I’ll meet you in the yard. We can sit out there while I braid your hair, and you can tell me all about your party yesterday with your friends at the pool.”

Jameelah grinned and dashed off to her room.

* * *

The party was in full swing, and Naima was putting out desserts on the table for everyone to enjoy. As she moved items around to make room for everything, Jason joined her at the table. She smiled and held out the tray of cupcakes to him. “Moana cupcake?”

“Thanks, but I’m going to stick with these brownies.” Reaching over, he plucked two from the plate. “You know what’s going on with the kid?” He jerked his head in the direction of Clay who was sitting quietly by himself on the outdoor love seat.

“No,” Naima responded, shaking her head. She had been wondering herself what was bothering him. “But I did notice he was quiet earlier when he and Emma arrived.”

As they watched, Emma bounced over and joined Clay, breaking him out of his reverie. She said something that made him smile, then held out her half-eaten cupcake, as if she was offering him a bite. He shook his head, and she laughed and took a big bite out of it herself. Grinning, he reached out and wiped a bit of frosting off her nose with his finger. This made Emma laugh some more, and she caught his hand with the frosting in hers.

Naima smiled at their antics. “Whatever is bothering him, Emma cheers him up.”

“I know. They’re good for each other. You and Ray have been telling me.” Jason crammed the second half of one of the brownies into his mouth. Naima suspected it was to avoid having to say anything else.

“We’re right. Ray tells me Clay has been much steadier on the job since he’s been with Emma. And look how happy she is. You can’t tell me you don’t like that. I think he’s very good to her.” Naima gave Jason a look challenging him to disagree with her.

“He is, but I don’t want him to get too comfortable. She’s still my little girl.” Smiling with a devilish grin, Jason went to take a bite out of the second brownie.

“Jason Hayes! Are you making that poor boy think you still don’t want him dating Emma for no good reason?” Naima was tempted to knock the rest of that brownie right out of his hand.

“It’s not for no good reason. He’s dating my daughter, and I don’t take that lightly. Besides, that poor boy is a SEAL. If she’s important to him, he’ll deal with it.”

Naima shook her head. “No more desserts for you.”

“What?”

“You heard me. No more desserts for you.” She flapped her hands at him, directing him towards the yard. “Go. Join your teammates. Nothing else from the dessert table for you.”

Jason looked towards the plate of chocolate chip cookies. “But, I—”

Naima raised her eyebrows. “Go.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jason sighed as he headed back towards Ray in the yard.

* * *

Clay sat by himself on one of the love seats on the deck. He had been doing his best to enjoy Jameelah’s party and not let his encounter with his father this morning ruin his pleasure in this day, but his annoyance at Ash kept creeping back in.

He was thinking he should go and make an effort to be social again, when Emma plopped down beside him.

“Jameelah sent me over here to sit with you.” Emma explained her arrival. “As your girlfriend, she says, I’m supposed to keep you company.”

Clay smiled. “For someone who’s only turned nine, Jameelah seems to have this whole relationship thing worked out.”

“Well, look who her parents are.” Emma grinned and held out her partially eaten cupcake to him. “Want a bite? They’re tasty.”

He shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m sweet enough.”

Emma laughed and then took another bite of the cupcake. Some decorative frosting ended up on her nose. Grinning, Clay reached over and removed it with his finger. She caught his hand with the frosted finger in hers and started pulling it closer to her face. He suspected she planned on sucking the frosting off his finger.

“Whatever you’re thinking about doing, you might want to not do it because your father is watching us right now.” He warned her before she did something that might annoy Jason.

She froze for a moment, and he watched her expression turn speculative, as if she was considering doing whatever she planned anyway. Before she made a decision, Jameelah called from the yard for Emma. RJ had accidentally pulled out one of Jameelah’s braids, and the little girl wanted Emma to fix it.

Releasing Clay’s hand, Emma stood up from the love seat. “The birthday girl needs me.”

Clay snagged Emma’s napkin from her and wiped the frosting off his finger. “Go ahead. Duty calls.” 

She started to go, but then paused. “You’re okay, right? I can stay if you prefer.”

“No, it’s fine. I just needed a break from all the socializing, but I’m good now.”

She hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He stood as well. “Sonny’s challenging Trent to a game of cornhole. I need to go heckle him, so he loses.”

“Okay.” Squeezing his hand, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then went to help Jameelah.

Clay smiled as he watched her go. He liked having someone who worried about him.

* * *

The party was still going strong as Naima stood in the kitchen wrapping up leftovers and putting them in the refrigerator. The possibility existed some of this food would come out again if the party ran later and people were hungry again, but she didn’t want anyone getting sick because something had gone bad in the heat.

As she worked, she heard someone coming down the hall from the bathroom. She looked up as Emma entered the kitchen. “Hey sweetie, having a good time?”

“Yeah, it’s great to see everyone. I feel like the summer’s flying by, and I’ve hardly had time to spend with you all.” Emma began collecting the dishes Naima had emptied. “I’ll rinse these for you and put them in the dishwasher.”

“You don’t have to do that. Go out and enjoy the party.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, you shouldn’t be in here doing all the work by yourself.” Turning on the water, Emma started rinsing the bowls containing the remains of the salsa and onion dip.

“Don’t worry, your Uncle Ray and Uncle Trent’s girlfriend have been helping.” Naima continued to combine items into fewer dishes and cover other things with tin foil. As she worked, she glanced over at the younger woman at the sink. “Emma, is everything okay with Clay? He’s been a bit quiet today.”

Sighing, Emma placed a large bowl into the dishwasher. “We ran into his father this morning when we were picking up the cupcakes. I think they had words.”

“You think?” Naima turned away from the fridge and leaned back against the counter.

“I’m not sure because I left them to go into the bakery. Clay came in as I was paying, and he did not look happy.” Emma frowned as she continued loading up the dirty dishes. “He didn’t want to talk about it. He said because he didn’t want it to ruin the day and Jameelah’s party for him, but I think it is anyway.”

“Ash Spenser.” Shaking her head, Naima wondered why the man even bothered to have a child.

“Have you ever met him?” Emma asked.

“No, I haven’t.” Naima had no desire to either.

Emma closed the dishwasher door. “There’s still room in here.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’m not sure how to help Clay with this though.”

“I think you’re doing the right thing for now. You’re giving him some space to deal with it. Clay is a lot like someone else I know.” Naima gave Emma a pointed look. “He keeps things to himself until he’s ready to share. You don’t want to push him too much.”

Giving Naima a small smile to acknowledge her point, Emma turned to gaze out the window at Clay in the yard. “I guess. I don’t like seeing him unhappy though.”

Stepping forward, Naima rested a hand on Emma’s shoulder. “Of course not, sweetie, but we can’t always fix everything for the people we love. Hang in there and eventually he’ll be ready to talk about it.” 

Before Emma replied, Ray came into the kitchen carrying some platters. “I have these from the meat. Where would you like them?” He paused for moment upon seeing the two women looking so intense. “Everything okay?” 

“On the table is fine, babe.” Naima turned and gave Ray a reassuring smile. “We’re good, having a little girl talk is all.”

Placing the trays on the table, Ray nodded and headed back out into the yard.

“Do you mind helping me wash these? They won’t fit in the dishwasher.” Picking up the dishes, Naima brought them over to the sink.

“No problem, Aunt Naima,” Emma said, turning the water back on.

The two women began washing and drying the large plates. As they worked, Naima remembered something she had been meaning to ask Emma. “Sweetie, were you able to make an appointment with the doctor whose name I gave you?”

Handing over the first clean tray, Emma nodded. “Yeah, they scheduled me for a time in late August, but the receptionist was able to put me on the cancellation list, so they called when they had a last-minute opening, and I was able to go in a couple of weeks ago.”

“That’s good. I was worried you might not be able to get an appointment before you had to go back to school.” Naima took the first dish and began to dry it. “And everything went well? You liked the doctor?”

“She was really nice, and it was all fine. I mean, seeing the gynecologist is not on my top ten list of fun things to do, but it was good.” Propping the next dish on the dish drainer, Emma turned to Naima. “I talked to her about going on the pill.”

Naima had wondered if birth control might have been the reason Emma had come to her asking for the name of a gynecologist. “And did she think it was a good idea? Or did she have other suggestions?”

“She thought the pill would work well for me. We talked about some other things, but the pill seemed best. Besides using it for birth control, it should help with keeping my cycle regular, which I’ve had issues with, and fewer cramps. I feel like it will make my whole life a lot easier.”

“It definitely can do that,” Naima agreed. “But you wanted it for birth control first?”

Emma turned a little pink at Naima’s question. “Um, yeah, it seemed like the right thing to do.”

“You’re right. That’s the responsible thing to do.” Placing the first tray in the cabinet by the sink, Naima then picked up the second and began to dry it. “I know earlier in the summer you were concerned about the physical side of your relationship. Is that okay now? Is everything good?”

Emma turned a slightly deeper shade of pink. “Yes, it’s good.” Then her lips curved into a pleased smile. “Very good.”

After putting away the second platter, Naima gave Emma a little squeeze on the upper arm. “I’m glad.”

Finishing the third dish, Emma handed it off. “Aunt Naima, I didn’t realize what it would be like. The way everyone talks, like it’s so serious. And, I mean, it is, trusting someone that much and being that close, but I didn’t know how…” She paused as she tried to find the right words. “…fun, I guess, it would be. That we would laugh so much and, oh, I don’t know… It just wasn’t what I expected. It’s so much more.”

Naima placed the dish in her hands down onto the counter and hugged Emma. “That’s good, baby. That’s what it should be like with the right person, and I’m so happy you’ve been able to find that with Clay. The two of you deserve that.” The women hugged for a moment, and then Naima held Emma away from her. “Now that’s enough clean up in here. You go out and enjoy the rest of the party and I’ll be out in a few minutes. Don’t tell your Dad, but I have some of that Rosé you like. I’ll bring you a glass, or rather a plastic cup, so we don’t give it away.”

“That sounds good.” Emma agreed. “But really come out in a few minutes. Don’t get caught up cleaning something else.”

“I won’t. I promise.” Naima gave Emma a nudge towards the door. Once the younger woman left, Naima turned to the fridge to find the bottle of Rosé. She smiled as she moved things around to get at the wine bottle. She always suspected Clay Spenser knew how to treat a woman, and she was gratified to know he was doing right by Emma.

* * *

That evening Clay was trying to read in bed while Emma was in the bathroom brushing her teeth and getting ready to go to sleep. He smiled as he heard her singing to herself through the partially opened door. From what he could see through the small gap, she was smoothing lotion onto her legs as she sang.

She was acting very cheery this evening. Although, Clay suspected her happy mood had something to do with the couple cups of wine he saw Naima slip her during the latter half of the party. Still humming softly, Emma came out of the bathroom and settled down on her side of the bed. 

Clay closed his book and put it aside. “Ready to go to sleep?”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to stop reading though. It won’t bother me if you leave your bedside lamp on.” Emma fluffed her pillows up against the headboard and relaxed back into them.

“It’s fine. I can’t seem to concentrate. I think I’ve read the same paragraph about five times.” He let his head fall back against the headboard, and he sighed.

She rolled onto her side to look at him. 

He turned to face her. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been in the greatest mood all day.”

“That’s okay.” She reached out and ran her hand down his arm.

“My father… he just…every time I think we’re in a better place, he does something or says something that makes me realize nothing’s changed.”

“What did he say?” Emma asked.

Clay hesitated. He didn’t want Emma to think she had anything to do with what happened.

She squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“We argued.” Clay paused, then decided to tell her, figuring it wasn’t something he could hide. “About you.”

“Oh.” Her voice was faint. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Clay immediately responded. “It was in no way your fault. He’s the one that assumed you and I were sneaking around behind your father’s back, and he’s the one that said it was exactly the kind of stupid move he’d expect from me.”

“He called you stupid?” The outrage on Emma’s face was obvious.

“Yeah. It doesn’t matter. What matters is he thought it was okay to say I was throwing away my career for...” Clay’s voice faded away as he realized he didn’t want Emma to know what his father referred to her as.

“A frog hog?” One corner of her mouth quirked up in an ironic smile.

“Those weren’t his specific words, but that’s what he meant. And, Em, it isn’t true, and I’d never let anyone say it was. That includes my father.”

Smiling, Emma cupped his cheek with her hand and leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. “I know you don’t think that, so who cares what your father thinks? He doesn’t know me. He has no idea what I’m like. I’m more upset he said you’re stupid. He does know you, and anyone who knows you should know you’re not stupid. What kind of father says something like that?”

Clay smiled at how angry Emma was becoming on his behalf. “That’s his M.O. Go for the weak spot. Doesn’t matter who your opponent is.”

“You’re not his opponent. You’re his son.”

Clay shrugged. “That’s the way he is.”

* * *

Emma frowned. She didn’t care what crazy judgement Ash Spenser made about her after a five-minute meeting, but his insult to Clay upset her. She did wonder what kind of person treated their child like that, even if their child was an adult. Clay seemed fine with it, but she wasn’t sure. Sometimes he hid his emotions expertly behind that SEAL façade. 

“Why did you think you two were in a better place?” She thought changing the direction of their conversation might give her a better understanding of what he was thinking.

“He was really helpful with trying to get Swanny the Purple Heart. One of the times we met he even said how nice it was to get together and have a conversation and not have all the tension between us. I thought so too. Once Lindell came down on me for it, I had to ask Ash to stop, but I thought he understood where that was coming from.” 

Clay’s expression became distant as he focused on deciphering his relationship with his father. “I don’t know, Em, sometimes I think it has nothing to do with me, that he just wasn’t meant to be anyone’s father. But it’s hard to believe when it’s me he’s criticizing.”

Hearing the sadness in Clay’s voice, Emma reached out and pulled him to her in a hug. “It’s his loss then, that he doesn’t know how great you are.”

Feeling Clay lean into her, she squeezed him a little tighter. As he started to pull away, she held on and kept him lying against her side with his head resting on her shoulder. They laid together quietly, and she brought her hand up and stroked his hair, then began gently scratching her nails against his scalp.

“Mmm, that feels good,” he said.

“My Mom used to do it when I was small if I was upset. It always made me feel better.”

Emma felt Clay’s body relaxing as they continued to lie together, and she worked to make herself unwind as well. If she continued thinking about her anger at Ash Spenser for his treatment of Clay, she would never be able to fall asleep. Instead, she focused on how much she liked lying here holding Clay. Usually she would lie along his side with her head on his chest, or they would spoon together with his arm around her, but she enjoyed having him lie against her for a change.

Clay turned his head and nuzzled into her neck. “You smell good, like cake.”

“I think that’s my body lotion.”

“I like it.” He continued to snuggle into her neck, making her giggle. “You’re also wearing my favorite nightgown.”

“Favorite nightgown?” She didn’t realize he had a preference when it came to her sleepwear. The nightgown was pretty, but she didn’t think it was particularly sexy. It was dark blue with a lacy bralette top she thought was flattering, and then it flowed from under her chest down to mid-thigh and ended with a lace-trimmed hem.

She was curious to know what Clay liked so much about it. Since their relationship had become intimate, she had begun paying more attention to lingerie, but other than some fancy bra and panty sets, she hadn’t purchased much. She liked revealing sexy underwear as they undressed when making love, but she wasn’t so confident about sashaying around in some racy number.

“Definitely my favorite.” Clay smiled and rolled back onto his side, propping his head on his hand, with his elbow on the mattress.

Emma turned on her side to face him. “What makes this one your favorite?”

With his free hand, Clay ran a finger under the lacy strap on her shoulder. “Two reasons, the first is you look very sexy wearing it.” 

She blushed. “I do?”

“You do.” He gave her a teasing grin, and let his finger move lower down the strap to the top of her breast.

Her breathing picked up, and they both saw her nipples becoming erect through the thin material of the gown. Her blush turned a deeper shade of pink as Clay’s finger moved from under the strap down to rub her nipple. 

Emma’s eyes started to drift closed as she enjoyed his touch, but then she realized he hadn’t given her the second reason. “Wait.” She caught his hand with hers and moved it away from her chest before releasing it. “You said two reasons. What’s the other one?”

His gaze moved from her breasts back to her face. “Do you remember the first weekend you stayed here with me?”

“The first weekend I stayed here?” She tapped her finger to her lips. “Should I? Did anything big happen that weekend?”

Clay laughed and wrapped his arms around her, rolling so she was lying under him. “I think you know precisely what ‘big thing’ happened that weekend.” He pressed his hips to hers, and she felt how aroused he was.

She rolled her eyes and groaned at his word play. “You did not just say that.”

“Hey, you were the one that tried to pretend she couldn’t remember what happened that weekend.”

Emma giggled. “Of course, I remember.”

“The first night you slept in one of my t-shirts.” He shook his head as she giggled at him again. “But, the second night you came parading out in this nightgown—”

“I was not parading!”

“—parading out, and I realized you not only had that nightgown, but you had had your bathing suit earlier in the day and multiple changes of clothes. And it dawned on me, you had come over prepared to stay the whole weekend, even though I didn’t invite you until after we came back from Ray and Naima’s place.”

“Those were some keen observational skills you had going on that weekend.” She gave him a teasing grin. “I may have had a plan to convince you to let me stay.”

“Was that the only thing you made a plan for?” 

She slipped her arms around his neck and gave him a serious answer this time. “Anything more than that was wishful thinking on my part at the time.” 

“It was wishful thinking for me then too.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “But that’s the other reason I like this gown, it reminds me of that weekend.”

Emma was touched by Clay’s second reason. Every so often he would say sweet things like that, and they always made her love him more. She lifted her head from the pillow and began kissing him.

Clay rolled onto his back, bringing her to lie on his chest. “You know, as much as I like this nightgown, I like it even better when we take it off.” He returned to kissing her while slowly pulling the gown up.

She broke off their kiss to help him tug it over her head. “Me too.”

* * *

Early Monday morning Clay was spun up, and that mission led into another in the same part of the world. He and Emma texted a little while he was gone, although most of the time his phone was off and in his bag on the plane. He was aware Emma had accepted some extra shifts at the hotel from her coworkers. She did that sometimes for the extra money or because she could then swap off her shifts to them when he was home with free days.

When checking his phone after the second mission was completed, he noticed Ash had texted several times and left two voice mails. He deleted the messages and glanced at the texts. His father seemed to be apologizing for jumping to conclusions when he saw Clay and Emma together, but Clay didn’t want to hear any more from Ash about it.

Once the plane touched down in Virginia Beach, he let Emma know he was home and hoped to be wrapped up at the base by around four o’clock. She would be finished with work at four and suggested she head to his apartment then, stopping on the way to pick up some takeout from a Thai place they liked. He agreed and warned her not to be surprised if he fell asleep right after eating.

Leaving the base earlier than expected, Clay was able to avoid the worst of the traffic and made good time back to his apartment. He parked his truck in the lot and started to pull his bag out of the back when he heard Ash calling his name. He sighed to himself as he turned to face his father.

“Clay, I’m glad I caught you. I’ve been wanting to talk to you.” 

“I saw you texted and left voice mails.” Clay began walking towards the entrance to his building.

Ash followed along as Clay kept going. “Clay, son, hold on a minute. I want to apologize to you. I made a mistake.”

Hearing his father admit to making a mistake was enough to get Clay to stop and turn to Ash. “And what was your mistake?” 

“I made an assumption about you and Hayes’ daughter. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known you wouldn’t sneak around with her.”

Clay was shocked. He hadn’t believed Ash would truly admit to making a mistake. Clay figured his father would give some long excuse that would exonerate Ash and make Clay the bad guy.

When Clay didn’t respond, Ash continued to explain. “I was worried about you losing your career with the Teams, and I said some things I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.” 

Now Clay was stunned. He didn’t think his father had ever apologized in his life. “I, okay, apology accepted, I guess.” They stood in silence for a moment, and then Clay spoke again. “I wouldn’t do that, you know, put my place on Bravo at risk.”

“I do know, or I should have known.” Ash was thoughtful for a moment. “I’m not going to say being a best-selling author, giving motivational speeches, and going on book tours make for a bad career, but it’s not the same as being a SEAL. There’s nothing like door kicking, and no matter how long you do it, it won’t be long enough. I saw what I thought was you possibly putting an early end to your time with DEVGRU, and I reacted without thinking.”

Clay ran his free hand through his hair. He thought Ash was being sincere, but still needed his father to know what was said about Emma was not acceptable. “Fine, but Emma is not some casual date or anyone’s one-night stand.”

Ash raised his hands in a placating manner. “Understood. I’d like to make it up to you and maybe start over. I could take you and Emma out for dinner one night and get to know her better.”

“I’ll have to ask Emma. I’m not sure what her work schedule is.” Frowning, Clay debated whether or not a meal out with his father was a good idea. For obvious reasons, Emma didn’t have the best impression of Ash, but Clay wanted his father to appreciate how special she was.

“Talk to Emma and find out what works. I’m around through the middle of next week.”

Clay decided he would agree for now and see what Emma thought. He could always say they were too busy to meet. “Okay, I’ll get back to you.”

“Great.” Ash stood there awkwardly for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure what to do after Clay had agreed so easily. “I’ll wait to hear from you then. See you later.”

“See you.” Clay watched as his father turned and headed off towards his car.

* * *

As Emma entered Clay’s apartment, she heard the shower running. Leaving the bag of takeout and her purse on the counter between the kitchen and living room, she began pulling out plates and napkins. The sound of running water stopped. She finished organizing everything they needed, left it all by the bag of takeout and headed into the bedroom.

Clay walked out of the bathroom wearing a pair of shorts. “Hey, I didn’t realize you were here already.” 

“I came in while you were still in the shower.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss hello. 

Clay pulled her close, and they hugged for a moment, glad to be back together again. Then Clay’s stomach growled, making them both laugh. “Guess I’m a little hungry. I’ve been thinking about those Crispy Rolls ever since you mentioned getting Thai food.”

“It just happens I know how much you like those, so I got extra.” Emma took his hand and started to walk out to the kitchen.

He paused and let go of her hand to grab his t-shirt off the bed. “You’re too good to me.”

“Actually, I wanted to make sure I got some too.”

“Wait, are you saying I hog the food?” Clay’s voice was muffled as he pulled on the shirt. His head popped out of the neck hole, and he gave her a mock wounded look.

Emma grinned and shrugged her shoulders at him as she stepped out of the room.

In the living room, they grabbed everything off the counter and set it up on the coffee table. Emma grabbed them drinks, and they settled down on the couch to enjoy their meal. While they ate, they chatted about what she had been doing while he was gone, and Clay told her a funny story about a prank Brock and Cerb played on Sonny while they were on the plane.

Once she was full, Emma relaxed back against the couch cushions and watched Clay finish off the Crispy Rolls and the Pad See Ew. “Didn’t they feed you on this spin up?”

“There were a lot of MREs. I think I was hungry the whole time we were gone.” Clay sat back and patted his stomach. “What did you end up doing over the weekend?”

“I worked during the day on Saturday, and then at night a bunch of us from the hotel went out to that bar, Carson’s. On Sunday I hung out with Hannah at her house. We sat by the pool.”

“Carson’s. That’s that dump I helped you bring Hannah home from when she drank too much, isn’t it?” Clay got up and went to the fridge. “Do you want another seltzer?”

“No, I’m good.” She closed up the containers that still had food in them and collected the empty ones in the bag it all came in. “Yeah, that’s the place.”

He grabbed another beer for himself and returned to the couch. “I don’t know why you all like that dive so much.”

Emma chuckled. “They don’t card, so everyone who wants to drink can.”

“Right, I should have realized. How else could Hannah have gotten so drunk?” He made himself comfortable and pulled Emma over to sit against his side, under his arm. “Is she still hung up on that guy?”

“I’m not sure. She’s been really closed-mouthed about it. He hasn’t been in touch for a while, so I’m hoping she’s over him, but I’m afraid she’s waiting to hear from him again.” Emma rested her head against Clay’s chest. “I feel like I can’t push too much. The last time I tried she told me it was easy for me to talk because I have the perfect boyfriend.”

“That’s true, you do—”

“But I pointed out he has a huge ego.” Emma cut Clay off with a smirk.

“Hey!”

She smiled at his pretend outrage but then sighed as her thoughts returned to Hannah. “I understand though. It’s simple for me to say there’s someone better out there for her, and she needs to wait for the right guy when I get to come back to you, and she’s all alone.”

Clay rubbed his hand up Emma’s arm. “Relationships are hard, and sometimes people are with someone just so they aren’t alone and not because that someone is the right person for them.”

Emma knew he was right. “Yeah, but I want more than that for Hannah. I want her to be with somebody wonderful.”

“She will be, but it may not happen for a while. All you can do is be there for her until then.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Emma laced her fingers with Clay’s as she thought about what else she could do.

They were both quiet, each lost in their own thoughts, when Clay broke the silence. “When I got home today, Ash was waiting for me in the parking lot.”

Emma tilted her head up to observe Clay. “He was? What did he want?”

Clay shrugged his shoulders. “He apologized for what he said when we ran into him outside the bakery.”

“Really? You think he meant it?” She had her doubts.

“He seemed sincere, but he’s never apologized for anything ever before. Why now?” Clay blew out a frustrated breath. “I want to believe him, but I keep thinking he must want something from me.”

“Like what?” Emma asked.

Clay shook his head. “I don’t know. He knows I won’t tell him any mission details.”

“But he didn’t say anything else? He apologized and left?”

“No, when he apologized, he explained he said those things because he thought I was putting my career as a SEAL at risk, and I told him I wouldn’t do that. He said he should have known that. So, then I told him you weren’t anyone’s casual date, which he said he understood. Then he offered to take us out to dinner to make it up to me and to get to know you better.” Once he finished reciting the details of the conversation, Clay looked down at Emma.

She met his gaze but wasn’t sure what to say. Her initial thought was there was no way she was having dinner with Ash Spenser but looking at Clay she wondered if he wanted them to go. “Did he say when?”

“He said he’s around until the middle of next week, but I said I didn’t know when you were working, so I’d have to get back to him. I figured I’d tell him we couldn’t make it work with our schedules if we decided we didn’t want to go.” 

“Do you want to?” Emma decided she would go, if it was what Clay wanted to do.

“I don’t know, Em.” Clay sighed and rested his head back against the couch. “Maybe. I liked when he and I were getting along, but I’m still not sure I trust him.”

“It’s only dinner. We can always cut it short if you think he’s trying to get something more from you.” Emma vowed to herself they would also be leaving early if Ash started insulting Clay again.

“We could.” Clay chewed on his lip for a few seconds. “Also, I’d like him to get to know you better.”

“Really?” That wasn’t something she was expecting.

He looked down at her with a smile. “Yeah, I want him to see what a terrific person you are.” 

Emma smiled and stretched up to give him a kiss on the cheek. “That’s very nice of you to say. Of course, it’s true. I am pretty terrific.”

Clay snorted. “Except when you steal all the covers.”

Emma laughed. “At least I don’t hog all the Crispy Rolls.” 

Clay started to laugh as well. “I love those Crispy Rolls.” 

“More than me?” She asked with a teasing grin.

He pretended to ponder her question. “Hmm…”

“Jerk.” She thumped his leg lightly with her fist.

He grinned. “I love them almost as much as you.” 

Smiling, she gave him another quick kiss. “That’s better.” Then she rested her head against his chest again. Her smile faded as she thought back to what they had been discussing. “So, we’re doing this dinner with Ash, then?”

Clay nodded. “I think so. Is there a day that works for you?”

Emma thought for a moment about what she’d be doing over the next few days. “How about Tuesday? I’m going with my Dad to see Mikey’s hockey scrimmage at his camp on Saturday, which will take up most of the day. I’d rather spend any other free time over the weekend with you.”

“Tuesday works for me, assuming we’re not spun up. I’ll let Ash know.” Before he could say anything else, Clay yawned and rested his head back on the couch.

She smiled and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “Tired?”

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep at all on the plane ride home.” He moved to settle deeper into the couch cushions.

“Here, stretch out and get some sleep.” Grabbing some pillows, she arranged them against the arm rest.

Clay moved to lay along the back of the couch, and Emma relaxed in front of him with her back against the pillows, having him rest his head on her shoulder. Reaching up, she grabbed the lightweight blanket she had left on the back of the couch and spread it over them. Then she took the TV remote from the coffee table and turned on the set with the volume low. Flipping through the channels, she stopped on a “Say Yes to the Dress” marathon on TLC. She glanced down at Clay to see if the sound from the TV was bothering him, but he seemed to already be asleep. She pressed a soft kiss to his brow.

* * *

The traffic on the highway was light late Saturday afternoon as Jason drove Emma and himself back to Virginia Beach from Mikey’s hockey camp. They had visited his son to watch him play in a scrimmage. Jason was impressed with how much Mikey’s skills had improved. His son scored a hat trick, and his team won the game.

Jason glanced at Emma and then back at the road. His daughter looked to be dozing off. He reached over and gave her knee a shake. “You hungry, kiddo?”

Perking up at the mention of food, she looked over at him. “I could eat.” 

“There’s a diner at the next exit. Sound good?” He smiled at her renewed energy.

“Do they have good burgers? I’ve been craving a burger.”

“They have fantastic burgers. They also have the best chicken fried steak you’ve ever eaten.” His stomach growled at the thought of that.

Emma made a disgusted face. “No, thank you to chicken fried steak.”

Jason shook his head. “Are you even my daughter?”

She laughed at his question. “Hey, I want a burger and not salad, don’t I?” 

“True. I guess I’ll keep paying for college.” Flipping on his directional, he took the exit ramp.

Emma grinned. “Good thing I wasn’t in the mood for a Caesar salad wrap.”

“Good thing.” Turning the truck into the entrance for the diner’s parking lot, Jason pulled into a space not too far from the entrance.

They both exited the truck and headed inside. Once they entered, a waitress waved them to sit wherever they wanted. They settled in a booth and grabbed menus.

Another waitress came by their table with a coffee pot. “Coffee? Or something else to drink?”

Jason flipped over the mug in front of him on the table. “I’ll take some coffee. Em?”

“I’ll have a strawberry milkshake, please.”

The waitress filled Jason’s mug. “Of course, dear. I’ll be right back with that.”

They both studied the menus for a bit, then Jason closed his and put it aside. “Still getting a burger?”

“Yes, with bacon and cheese. Mmm, and French fries. I hope they have good French fries.” Emma shut her menu and tucked it back behind the ketchup bottle.

The waitress returned with Emma’s milkshake and some creamers for Jason’s coffee. “Are you folks ready to order?”

“We are. Emma?” He looked to his daughter.

“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger, medium, with French fries, please.”

“What kind of cheese, dear?” The waitress scribbled down Emma’s order on her pad.

“Cheddar.”

Jason waited until the waitress was done writing up Emma’s food. “I’ll have the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and corn, please.”

Once she finished writing out the orders, the waitress smiled at them both. “I’ll get these right in to our cook. Let me know if you need anything else.”

The waitress headed off to the kitchen, and Jason watched as Emma put a straw in her milkshake and took a drink. Strawberry had always been her favorite flavor of ice cream. He smiled as he remembered all the times he had to wipe it off her face, hands, and shirt.

“What? Why do you have that silly look on your face?” Emma asked.

“Just thinking about having to clean your strawberry ice cream covered face when you were small.” His smile turned into a teasing grin as he spoke.

She rolled her eyes at his answer.

“What can I say? You liked your ice cream.” Chuckling at her pretended offense at his words, he admitted to himself he sometimes liked poking at Emma’s dignity now that she was grown up. “What’s Clay up to today?” 

“He and Uncle Sonny were meeting to go for a run on the beach. Then they were going to hang out and do ‘man things.’ I think that meant drink beer and watch sports.” Shaking her head, she took another sip of her milkshake.

Jason nodded. “Thank God they’ve worked out their problems. I was getting tired of Sonny walking around like a high school girl holding a grudge and Clay looking like a wounded puppy every time Sonny ignored him.”

“Nice, Dad.” Emma wrinkled her nose at him. “I’m just happy me and Clay dating hasn’t ruined their bromance. I was getting worried.”

Jason let out a bark of laughter. “Bromance, that’s what it is alright.”

Emma grinned at her father, and they shared an amused look at her term for Clay and Sonny’s friendship.

“Okay enough about the Wonder Twins,” Jason said, changing the subject. “Your brother has a week left at camp, then he’s coming to stay with me for two weeks before he heads back to school early for preseason hockey training.”

“What happens if you get spun up?” Emma raised an eyebrow at her father.

“Your Aunt Naima says he can stay with her and the kids.” Jason rubbed his chin. “I’m hoping we don’t though.” He thought they had a solid chance of it not happening. Charlie Team had just returned to full strength and needed to go out as a team again, and Romeo hadn’t been out for a while either. Both those teams would get sent before Bravo.

“Uh huh.” Emma looked unconvinced. He couldn’t blame her.

“I need your help.” He hesitated here. Emma had tried to help him with this back in the Fall, but he wasn’t interested then. He wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t want to now. “I need to make the place more welcoming for your brother. Could you come out shopping with me one night to get what I need?”

She gave him a reproving glance. “Oh, now you want to make the place homier.”

“I know, I know. I should have listened to you before.” He hoped she’d take pity on him and still be willing to work with him on this.

“Since you recognize that I was right, even though it is nine months later, I guess I can help you out.” With a little smirk, she took another drink of her milkshake.

“Oh well, thank you,” Jason said with a chuckle.

At that moment, the waitress arrived with their meals. They both dug in with gusto, and their conversation paused for a time as they enjoyed their food. But once they satisfied their initial hunger, they began chatting again.

“How’s your burger?” Jason asked.

“It’s so good, and the fries are crispy, just the way I like them.” Emma grinned at him as she crunched on another one. “How’s your chicken fried steak?” She paused in the middle of her question to make a face.

“Delicious.” He gave her a teasing grin. “Probably the best chicken fried steak in the state of Virginia.”

“Ugh, I’ll take your word for it.”

“You know what would go really great with it? French fries.” He reached across the table and snagged some of her fries and ate them.

She tried to slap his hand away from her plate but missed. “Wow, taking food right out of your daughter’s mouth. Father of the year, right there folks.”

He laughed. “You know you wanted to share with me.”

“Hmph, right.” Sure he would try again; Emma gave him a suspicious look. Going for distraction, she changed the subject. “When do you want to go on this shopping trip?”

Jason knew exactly what she was trying to do. He’d let her relax before he made another move on the fries. “I don’t know. Sooner is probably better. How’s Tuesday?”

“No can do. I already have plans on Tuesday.” 

“What could you be doing that’s more important than helping out your old man?” Teasing, he pretended to be hurt by her refusal.

Swallowing another fry, she shook her head at him. “I’m having dinner with Clay and his old man.”

All humor fell from Jason’s face, and his bantering tone disappeared. “Ash Spenser? Uh uh, no way. You are not having dinner with that bastard. I forbid it.” There was no way his daughter was spending any time anywhere near that piece of shit, and what was Clay thinking even considering letting his father be in her vicinity?

Emma gave him a patient look. “Dad, I’m twenty years old. You can’t forbid me from doing this.” 

“Watch me.” There was no way he was giving in on this.

“Dad.” Her annoyance at him was obvious.

“Emma.” He repeated in her same exasperated tone of voice. “Why are you so set on this? Why do you want to have dinner with Ash Spenser?” He knew Emma could be stubborn, but he couldn’t understand why she would consider spending time with that asshole.

She breathed out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t want to have dinner with him. But, Clay does, so I’m going to do it.”

“And that’s why, because Clay wants to?” Jason was irritated by her answer.

“Yes, that’s why.” With another sigh, she gave him an entreating look. “Are you saying Mom never did things she didn’t want to, like have dinner with your commanding officers and their wives, even when you asked her to?”

“Of course she did, but your Mom loved me and wanted to support me.” As he spoke, the meaning of what he was saying occurred to Jason. Emma looked him straight in the eye, and he knew even before she said it what was coming next.

“I love him, Daddy.” Emma’s voice vibrated with emotion. “And he needs my support for this. Yes, to us Ash Spenser is a jerk and a lousy father, but it’s up to Clay how he wants to handle their relationship, and right now Clay wants to try to keep that connection.” She shrugged. “So, I’m going to be there for him, and hope things go well, but if they don’t then I’ll stand by him through that.”

There it was. She loved Clay. Jason wasn’t surprised by it. He had assumed it for a little while now but hearing her say the words out loud brought home to him how adult his strawberry ice cream-loving, little girl had become.

Running his hands through his hair in frustration, he also wondered why he and Alana had thought raising an independent, out-spoken daughter was a good thing. Emma was right too, which was even more infuriating. “Okay, go to this dinner, but do not, under any circumstance, let yourself be alone with Ash. Do not get in a car with him—”

Interrupting Jason’s list of instructions, she rolled her eyes. “Dad, what do you think he’s going to do? Kidnap me and sell me to human traffickers?” 

“I’d rather not find out, so be careful around him. I don’t trust him.” He reached out and caught her arm and gave it a squeeze. “I’m serious, Emma.”

“I get it, Dad. Really.” She tried to reassure him. “Clay will be there, you know.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure he’s thinking straight on this,” Jason muttered.

Emma patted his hand that was still resting on her arm. “It’ll be okay.”

* * *

Jason spent the rest of the weekend debating whether or not he should speak to Clay about this dinner with Ash. Knowing Emma would be angry if he interfered, Jason was reluctant to approach his rookie. But, not wanting his daughter to be around Ash Spenser wasn’t Jason’s only reason for concern about this dinner. He was also worried about Clay getting hurt or being used by Ash. Jason thought he’d feel better if he knew where the kid’s head was on this.

Entering DEVGRU on Monday morning, he still hadn’t come to a decision. He thought maybe he’d try to talk to Ray about it at some point but considering Clay hadn’t mentioned the dinner to anyone on the team, Jason believed the kid wanted to keep his plans quiet.

The team spent the morning on training exercises, and Jason was pleased with how well they were working together. Bravo was in a good place, and things were clicking for them. 

After training, they all had lunch together and then went their separate ways for the afternoon. Brock took Cerb for some intensive training at the K9 center, while Trent went over to the medical facility for a refresher course he needed. Jason had to meet with Blackburn about some team housekeeping matters, and he thought Ray, Sonny, and Clay were hitting the range.

After his meeting, Jason headed to his cage to work on some paperwork Eric needed. With all the guys occupied with other things, Jason figured he’d have the place to himself for a while. When he entered the room, he was surprised to find Clay’s feet sticking out from his cage.

“Everything okay there, kid?” He asked as he approached. 

Clay scrabbled around on his hands and knees under the shelving unit in his cage. “Yeah, yeah, I dropped some ammo and I’m trying to find it all.”

Standing there watching Clay, Jason realized this would be a good time to talk about the dinner. He hesitated though, still not sure he should. As he debated, his eyes wandered over the contents of Clay’s cage. 

Along the front edge of the eye level shelf were some photos, mainly of Clay and Emma. For a while after the two started dating, Clay didn’t hang up any pictures. Jason didn’t think anything of it at the time, but in hindsight he realized the kid was trying to avoid giving him any reminders of the relationship. Ray was the one who fixed the situation.

One day Ray showed up at the cages and gave Clay a photo, explaining Naima had printed a bunch from her phone recently. He and Naima thought Clay might want this one. It was a picture of Emma sitting on Clay’s lap on the swing Ray and Clay had hung for Jameelah. It was a sweet picture of them smiling at whoever took the photo.

Clay accepted it and thanked Ray, who said he thought Clay might want to hang it in his cage. Jason pretended not to see the quick glance Clay shot his way before agreeing with Ray’s suggestion.

Once that picture went up, more followed. Today Jason saw several additional photos. There was one of Emma sitting on a blanket laughing up at Clay, Jason assumed, taking the photo. Another showed the couple together on an evening out, or at least Jason thought it was, since Emma’s makeup was fancier and her top was dressier. They looked like they had been dancing maybe, as Emma’s arms were around Clay’s neck and his were around her waist, but they had turned and smiled at the person snapping the picture. 

Before Jason could study any of the other photos, Clay finished gathering up the spilled ammo and stood. “Did you need something, boss?”

Jason stepped back from the door to the cage. “No, uh, I thought you were at the range with Sonny and Ray.”

“I was for a bit, but I wanted to clear out some things in here.” Clay started replacing the ammo in the box it came from.

Nodding, Jason made a decision and spoke. “Emma tells me the two of you are having dinner with your father tomorrow.”

Clay looked over at Jason. “Yeah, he cornered me after our last spin up and invited us.”

“Cornered you? What do you mean?”

Looking away from Jason and then back again, Clay didn’t answer. Jason was reminded of Mikey when his son was trying to think of the best explanation for trouble he had gotten into.

Clay finally answered. “I was angry at Ash and avoiding his calls. He waited for me outside my apartment building the day we returned, so he could apologize. He made the dinner offer to make up for his behavior.” 

“What was he apologizing for?” Jason thought there were any number of things Ash should apologize for, but he wondered what Ash considered worth saying sorry for.

Clay huffed out a dry laugh. “You mean, this time?”

  
“Yeah,” Jason agreed. “Also, I didn’t think Ash was a big one for apologies.”

Clay nodded. “He’s not. That was the first one he’s ever given me.” He paused and shook his head. “Emma and I ran into him outside the bakery when we were picking up the cupcakes for Jameelah’s birthday party. Emma went into the bakery, and Ash went off on me. He thought I was having some kind of casual fling with Emma behind your back, which would ruin my career once you found out.”

Leaning back against the table in the center of the room, Jason crossed his arms over his chest. “If that was the case, I’d ruin more than your career.”

“I know.” A small smile flickered across Clay’s face, then his expression became more serious again. “I was pissed, and I let him know it. I think he was surprised, but I was so angry I didn’t stay to hear his response. I walked off.”

“What did he apologize for exactly?” Jason felt there were several things from that situation Ash could have said sorry for.

“First he apologized for assuming I was sneaking around with Emma. He said he should have known I wouldn’t do that. Then he said he was sorry for saying things he shouldn’t have because he was worried I was risking my place on the teams.”

“Do I want to know what he said that he shouldn’t have?” Jason gave Clay a probing look.

“No.” Clay’s reply was quick and succinct.

Jason waited to see if Clay would add anything to his response. When he didn’t, Jason spoke again. “So, the dinner?”

Clay shrugged. “He offered as an apology and a chance to start over in meeting Emma. It seemed like a good way to get us back to where we were when he was helping me with Swanny’s Purple Heart.”

Not sure he totally understood Clay’s desire to repair his relationship with his father, Jason only nodded in response to the kid’s statement. What else could Jason say about it? His relationship with his own father had been completely different and nowhere near as challenging as the one Clay had with his. The best Jason could say here was he didn’t think Clay was going into this dinner thinking it would solve all the problems that existed in the situation.

“Also,” Clay interrupted Jason’s thoughts to continue, “I want him to really meet Emma.”

Surprised by that, Jason’s eyes snapped up to Clay’s face.

Without flinching, Clay held Jason’s gaze as he spoke. “I love Emma, and I plan on being in her life long-term. I want my father to get to know her a little.”

Now Jason had full confirmation of what he had been wondering about for a while. Emma loved Clay and Clay loved Emma, although Jason had been pretty sure of Clay’s feelings since Emma’s birthday dinner. This relationship was not going to fade away with the end of summer. He wasn’t sure where it would go or how long it would last, but it was obvious to Jason he had been naïve earlier this summer when he assumed his daughter and his rookie wouldn’t do more than date casually for a little while.

“So, about that, your father spending time with Emma, I’m not happy about it.” 

* * *

Clay frowned as he realized that was all Jason was going to say in response to his declaration of love for Emma. He expected something more than that, something along the lines of what are your intentions or don’t screw up my little girl’s life. Something. Instead, Jason was concerned about Emma being around Ash.

“Jase, you know I would never let anything happen to Emma. I would never allow anyone to hurt her, including my father.” 

Jason relaxed back against the table again. “I know that. It’s one of the reasons I gave you my permission to date her in the first place, but maybe I worry that when it comes to Ash you don’t always have your head on straight.” 

Clay felt a flash of irritation at Jason’s words. He knew his teammates were protective of him and felt he should cut his father off. There were times Clay agreed with them, but Ash was still his father. His only living relative. Clay wasn’t ready to cut that connection. He wasn’t sure he understood why himself, so how could he make the rest of Bravo understand? He knew under all his anger and disappointment, he needed to keep making an effort with Ash.

His relationship with his father would never be like the bonds Ray and Jason enjoyed with their kids, but he thought seeing them together was part of what made him keep trying with his father.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice betrayed his annoyance at Jason’s statement. 

“Easy, I only meant I’m concerned that because you want to fix your relationship with him, you’ll leave yourself open to getting hurt by him again.” Jason’s voice took on a placating tone.

Clay found Jason’s efforts to calm him made him more upset. “Look, I know you all don’t get why I want to try to have a better relationship with Ash, but he’s still my father and how I handle that is up to me.” He stopped speaking for moment to prevent himself from saying anything he might regret, but then he felt he needed to point out something else to Jason. “Ash may have been a crappy father, but he was still a SEAL. He’s not going to do anything to Emma.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Jason sighed. “I handled this wrong. It’s just, I worry. I worry about you because you’re on my team and it’s my job to watch out for you. And, I worry about Emma because she’s my little girl and no matter how old she gets I will always worry about her.”

“I get it. I appreciate how you feel about Emma and that you all care about me. But I need to work this out with Ash on my own terms. I know you guys don’t understand it. I barely do myself, so how can I explain it to you? I feel like right now I need to see if Ash and I can have some kind of cordial relationship. Maybe we won’t. Maybe he’ll turn out to be the asshole you think he is, but I want to try.” Shrugging, Clay turned back to organizing the items on the shelving unit.

Jason didn’t say anything for a moment, then finally he spoke. “Then give it a shot and know whatever happens we’ll always be here for you.”

Hearing Jason’s words, Clay smiled. “Thanks, boss.”

Nodding, Jason picked up his laptop from the table and headed for the door. “Alright, I have to get this paperwork done for Blackburn. I’m going to find myself someplace quiet to work. We good?” 

“Yeah we’re good.” Clay went back to dealing with all the junk he had collected, but before the door shut, he called out. “Boss, I told you I was in love with your daughter. You’re not even a little surprised by that?”

Grinning, Jason stuck his head back in the room. “Surprised? Please. I pretty much knew you were in love with her once I saw how you looked at her when we were at her birthday dinner.”

Clay gave Jason a stunned look. He didn’t think he was that obvious.

Jason laughed. “Ray says he knew the day you asked for permission to date her.” With that, he left not waiting to see Clay’s reaction.

* * *

Butterflies danced in Emma’s stomach as she sat in the passenger seat of Clay’s truck. She glanced over at Clay calmly driving them to meet Ash Spenser for dinner and wondered if he was truly that relaxed about this. Maybe he was hiding his anxiety better than she was.

Part of her nervousness was due to her wanting this meal to go well for Clay, but much to her displeasure the rest of her apprehension was because she wanted Ash to like her. Well, maybe not like her exactly, but at least think she was a good girlfriend for Clay.

She didn’t want to care what Ash thought of her. When Clay told her Ash had suggested she was a frog hog after their first meeting, she wasn’t bothered. But that was after they had met for about five minutes. No one could form a true opinion of anyone on that brief of an acquaintance. Now she and Clay were going to spend an evening with his father, and she wanted to make a good impression. So annoying.

Instead of worrying about what Ash would think, Emma tried to focus on what she would do if he started insulting Clay again. She knew she would have no problem with getting up and leaving, but she worried about how Clay would feel. This was not an etiquette situation covered in the copy of “50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know” her mother gave her when she was twelve.

Clay reached over and squeezed her hand, rousing her from her thoughts. He looked at her and smiled before turning back to the road. “Thank you for doing this. I know there are other more fun things we could be doing.”

“It’s important to you,” she said simply. Clay smiled, and she turned her hand in his and squeezed back.

He returned his hand to the steering wheel and turned the truck into the parking lot of the steakhouse Ash had chosen for their dinner. Emma found it interesting Ash Spenser’s pick for a restaurant was precisely the type of place her father would select. She decided it would be better not to mention it to either of them though.

Clay parked the truck and walked around to open her door and help her down. They entered the restaurant, and Emma felt those butterflies start up again. Tightening her grip on Clay’s hand, she hung back behind him as they approached the hostess stand.

Before Clay could speak to the young woman, they heard Ash call out from the bar. “Clay, Emma.”

As they watched, he tossed back the rest of his drink and left a bill on the bar for the bartender. Then he walked towards them, giving the hostess a flirtatious smile. “This is the rest of my party.”

She returned his playful glance. “Then I can seat you now. Please follow me.”

They followed the hostess back to a dark paneled room, decorated to imitate an English hunting lodge. About half the booths and tables in the room were occupied, and there was a low murmur of conversation. When they reached their booth, Emma slipped into one side and Clay settled on the leather banquette next to her, while Ash sat across from them.

The hostess handed them each a large, bound menu. “Your server will be with you shortly.” With a last, lingering smile for Ash, she headed back to the front of the restaurant.

Emma was horrified by the young woman’s flirtatiousness with Ash. He was easily old enough to be her father, since she was definitely younger than Clay. Emma thought maybe if you didn’t know anything about Ash Spenser he might come off as a charming older man, but then she decided no, not at all, just creepy.

Ash turned his attention to Clay and Emma. “Have you been here before? They cook a delicious steak.”

“No, I haven’t,” Clay said.

“Me neither.” Emma opened her menu. “Is there a particular steak you recommend?”

Ash puffed up at being asked his opinion. He opened his menu and looked at the choices. “I always enjoy the Porterhouse, but that might be bigger than you want. The New York Strip is good, but so is the Filet Mignon.”

Emma nodded and leaned into Clay’s side. “What are you getting?”

Clay smiled at her. “I was thinking the Porterhouse.”

The waitress came by at that point and took their drink orders. Ash also ordered some crab bites as an appetizer for them.

Closing her menu, Emma looked around the restaurant. It was fancier than the places she usually went to, and the prices on the menu were higher than she expected. She supposed writing bestsellers could be lucrative.

“So, Emma, Clay mentioned not knowing your work schedule this week when I first asked him about dinner. What do you do?” Ash’s voice broke into Emma’s study of the restaurant.

“Most of the year I’m a student at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, but for the summer I’m working the front desk at the Maxwell Hotel in Virginia Beach.” As she spoke, she slid her hand into Clay’s under the table.

Ash raised his eyebrows at her answer. “Tisch School of the Arts. What are you studying?”

“Music.”

“Emma has a beautiful voice.” Clay interjected.

Ash nodded. “New York’s a fun place. I go there sometimes to meet with my agent and my publisher.”

“I like it.” She hoped he wouldn’t suggest them getting together there.

The timely arrival of the waitress with their drinks and the appetizer put an end to any more discussion of New York. “Here you go.” She placed their drinks by each of them on the table and put the platter of crab bites in the center. Then she took their meal orders and disappeared back to the kitchen.

They fell into general conversation as they enjoyed the appetizer and their drinks. Clay encouraged Emma to tell Ash a few stories about the funny things that happened at the hotel. Then Ash related a few tales about crazy fans he had come across on his book tours.

Their steaks arrived, but Clay and Ash continued chatting about some training Clay had been working on. Although Emma noticed Clay was very careful to keep that information general and not specific to any missions he had been on or might spin up for in the future.

While the men continued with their conversation, she dug into her steak. She had ordered the Petite Filet Mignon, while both Clay and Ash were having the Porterhouse. Listening to them talk, she thought no one would realize how difficult their relationship was. Anyone would think they were at the very least good friends. 

Tuning back into their discussion, she found they had moved on to talking about some sniper rifle and whether or not it was better than some other one. She focused back on her food, which was tasty. The steak was as delicious as Ash had said it would be, and the garlic mashed potatoes were so good. She reminded herself to do something about her garlic breath later if she wanted to kiss Clay. 

“Clay, we’re being rude to Emma, here.” Ash’s voice broke into her thoughts. “She has no interest in hearing about sniper rifles.”

She gave Ash a polite smile. “It’s fine, really. I’m used to it. I’ve been listening to conversations like that my whole life. And, when it comes to sniper rifles, I’m interested in knowing Clay has the best one possible to do his job.”

“A very diplomatic answer.” Ash’s look became thoughtful. “I guess you would be used to hearing about things like this.”

Emma nodded. “My father’s been a SEAL my whole life.”

“And he doesn’t mind you and Clay dating?”

Emma caught Clay’s eye, and they smiled faintly at each other. “He’s getting used to it,” she said to Ash. “Now.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t so thrilled at first,” Clay added.

Emma raised her eyebrows at Clay. “Not thrilled? Aunt Naima told me he threatened to kill you when you asked permission.”

Clay turned to look at Emma. “That was only if I hurt you.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay then.” She laughed lightly.

“Wait, wait.” Ash’s voice interrupted their focus on each other. “You asked Hayes for permission?”

Clay nodded. “Yeah, like you said, Jason would not have been happy to find out I was dating his daughter behind his back, so I asked his permission to date her.”

“And he said yes?” Ash gave Clay a disbelieving look.

“He took some convincing, but yeah.” 

Emma placed her hand on Clay’s arm. “Clay said some sweet things about me that persuaded my Dad, and he was impressed Clay came to him first.”

Clay gave her a teasing look. “Funny, I don’t remember you being this supportive when I said I had to ask your Dad’s permission. In fact, I believe your exact words were I should—”

“I don’t think we need to go over that again.” Emma cut Clay off with a grin.

Ash watched the couple with interest. Emma met his gaze and shrugged. “If my Dad had his way, I wouldn’t date at all until I was forty.”

Ash nodded. “What about your Mom? Is she okay with you dating a SEAL?”

Emma froze for a moment. Then she felt Clay’s hand rubbing her back. “I, my Mom died when I was in high school.”

Sitting back in his seat, Ash winced. “I’m sorry, Emma. I didn’t realize…”

“No, it’s okay. You had no way of knowing.” She leaned into Clay’s side for comfort. He slid his arm around her and pulled her in closer. She always had a hard time when people who didn’t know about her Mom, assumed she was still alive.

Right then the waitress came to the table, asking how their meals were and if they needed anything. Her arrival broke the awkward moment.

Once she headed off to the bar to fill their requests for new drinks, Clay made an effort to change the subject. “So, you’re headed out of town tomorrow?” 

Looking relieved at a question on a new topic, Ash nodded. “Yes, I have a speaking engagement at a corporate event in Chicago. The company’s doing their annual sales meeting, and they want a motivational speech for their people as the finale.” 

Emma could imagine her father’s response to hearing about Ash doing motivational speeches for salesmen. “Do you do that a lot for companies?”

“A fair amount. Sometimes it’s for a company like this, but other times it could be a trade organization for people in a certain field, like corporate travel or veterinary medicine. My publisher got me on the public speaking circuit when my first book came out, and it’s grown from there.” Ash looked like he could keep talking about this for the rest of the evening.

Finishing the rest of her steak, Emma nodded at Ash as he continued to drone on about his speaking engagements. Clay looked to be concentrating more on his meal as well. She thought as long as Ash was talking about himself, he could probably go on forever.

“You know, I have a book signing with a talk coming up on a Saturday here in Virginia, in two weeks. You both should come. What do you think?” He waited for a response from either of them.

Emma groaned to herself. The last thing she wanted to do was go to hear Ash Spenser talk about being a SEAL. Then she realized she was home free. She already had plans that day. “That would be nice, but I already have a commitment that Saturday.”

“You do?” Clay asked.

She smiled at him. “That’s the day I’m going with Aunt Naima to volunteer at the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.”

“That’s too bad.” Ash looked disappointed. “Not that you’re volunteering, but that you can’t make it. Maybe another time.”

Emma nodded and tried to look sorry she couldn’t be there

“Who’s Aunt Naima?” Ash asked.

“Ray Perry’s wife.” Clay answered.

“Bravo’s second in command.” Ash stated.

“He’s my Dad’s best friend. I’ve known him as long as I can remember.” Emma took another sip of her drink.

Ash nodded. “What will you do there?” 

“I think we’re going to pack disaster relief packs for families, since it’s hurricane season.” Clay’s hand was sitting on the seat between them now they had finished eating, and Emma slipped hers into it again. “But I’m not sure. It could be something else. I don’t have all the details since I was recruited by Aunt Naima. She’s the one that talked to Captain Lindell’s wife, who organized everything.”

“So, there’s a whole group from DEVGRU that’s going to be there?” Ash looked thoughtful as he questioned Emma.

“Well, wives and family members. I used to go with my Mom when Captain Harrington’s wife would arrange it.”

“Interesting,” Ash said.

Before he could say anything else, the waitress approached the table, asking if they would like dessert. They all declined, and Ash asked for the check. Once the waitress returned, he handed her his charge card to pay the bill. While they waited for her to bring it back, he and Clay chatted about a former teammate of Ash’s Clay knew.

Soon the waitress came back with the card, and Ash signed the receipt. With that, the three of them got up from the booth and headed out of the restaurant. As they made it to the front door, the hostess waved to Ash, and he gave her a wink.

Emma still found the hostess’ flirtation with Ash perplexing. She couldn’t understand what the young woman was thinking.

They exited the restaurant and stopped out front to say their goodnights. 

“Son, it was good seeing you.” Ash clapped Clay on the shoulder. “Emma, I’m glad we had a chance to get to know each other better.”

Ash came forward, and Emma realized he was going to give her a hug. Bracing herself for it, she gave him a little pat on the back as he squeezed. She then quickly stepped back before he could prolong the experience. Deciding Clay owed her big time for that, Emma slid behind a bit him to stop any further physical contact. “Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.”

“Yeah, thanks. Have a good trip to Chicago.” Clay added.

“You’re welcome. We’ll talk soon.” Ash watched as they turned and walked towards Clay’s truck.

Emma could feel Ash’s gaze on them as they went. Clay opened the door for her and gave her a hand in. She pretended to search in her purse for something while trying to see with her peripheral vision if Ash was still observing them. Clay climbed in and started up the truck. As they pulled away from the restaurant, she saw Ash wave and returned it.

“That wasn’t too bad.” Clay glanced at Emma while waiting to make the turn out of the parking lot.

“No, it wasn’t.” She was surprised. The dinner hadn’t been anything like she expected. “It was kind of anticlimactic.”

He chuckled. “What did you think was going to happen?”

“I don’t know. More than that. Ash making mean comments to you or hinting you shouldn’t date me because of my Dad. Something.” She waved her hands around fervently as she spoke. “He didn’t even mention our age difference.”

Clay grinned at her for a second before looking back at the road. “That’s Ash for you, never doing what you expect. The steak was great though.”

Emma snorted. “Seriously, that’s your recap of the evening? The steak was great.” Guys were so blasé about these types of things. She was going to have to call Hannah later to discuss this in detail.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Emma. It went better than I expected. We had a pleasant evening that, I hope, is another step to me and Ash having a decent relationship. I don’t have any bigger expectations than that.” Clay shrugged.

She realized that was her issue. She was looking for a big reconciliation or blow up between them, and all Clay wanted was friendly. How sad was that? That the best relationship you could anticipate with your father was cordial. It made her sad for Clay. She decided it was time to change the subject.

“Okay, what was the deal with the hostess? Could she have flirted with Ash any more?” Emma wrinkled her nose as she remembered the interactions.

Clay laughed out loud at her questions. “He likes to think he’s a ladies man.”

“He might, but she was younger than you. Why would she want to flirt with him?” Emma shook her head. She didn’t get it at all.

“Maybe she likes an experienced, older man,” Clay suggested with a grin.

“Eww, eww. Stop. Don’t even go there.” She gave him a disgusted look.

He pulled the truck into the parking area by the employee quarters of the hotel and into a space. Turning, he grinned at her. “There are those who would say you’re with an experienced, older man.”

“Oh, this is not the same at all. We are not like, wait a minute.” Emma narrowed her eyes at Clay. “You’re just teasing me.”

He laughed. “Maybe a little.”

“Hmph, are you coming in?” She tilted her head and gave him a beseeching look.

“Sure, we both have early mornings though, so I won’t stay too late.” 

Nodding, Emma hopped down from the truck before Clay could come around and open her door. She caught his hand in hers as they walked towards the entrance to the employee area. “You’re not even a little grossed out at the thought of your father and the hostess from the restaurant?”

Clay laughed and shook his head as they walked inside.

* * *

Sighing to herself, Emma checked the time again. Although she felt an hour had passed, the clock showed it was only fifteen minutes, and there was most of the afternoon left to work. Some days at the hotel flew by, but others crawled.

Not that she had anything big planned for after work. She was having dinner with Aunt Naima, Jameelah, RJ, and Mikey. Mikey finished camp over the weekend, and Bravo was spun up early on Monday morning. She thought she’d stop on her way to dinner and pick up some cookies she knew Mikey liked. He was disappointed not to be spending time with their Dad.

Clicking through the reservations program on the computer, she looked to see if anyone was expected for a check in. There were a few reservations, but no sign of any arrivals. As she thought that, the lobby door opened, and someone walked in. It was Ash Spenser.

He looked around the lobby as he approached Emma at the desk. His arrival was so unexpected she didn’t know how to react.

“Hi, Emma.” He smiled as if he was enjoying her surprise.

Get it together, she thought to herself. “Hi, Ash. Is there something I can help you with? Do you need a room?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I wanted to talk to you, and I didn’t have any other way to get in touch with you.” He leaned on the counter in front of her. “I tried getting in touch with Clay, but he’s not answering.”

“He’s away.” She wondered if Ash was looking to pump her for information about where Clay was.

“I thought that might be it.” Ash glanced around the reception area again. “Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”

“I’m not sure I can—”

Emma’s co-worker Casey piped up from further down the desk, cutting Emma off. “There’s nothing much going on now. Take your break. I’ll be fine here on my own.”

“Oh, okay, thanks.” Emma wasn’t grateful though, as she had been hoping to use work as an excuse to put Ash off. 

She stood and came out from behind the check in desk. “Why don’t we go outside. There’s a sitting area where we can have some privacy.

Ash nodded and followed her as she led the way out the lobby doors and around the side of the building. There was a spot with benches that looked out on the ocean. Emma enjoyed sitting there during her breaks and enjoying the view.

As they walked, she wondered if this was what her father had been warning her about. Was Ash trying to get her alone for some nefarious reason? Maybe he _was_ involved with human traffickers.

Emma gave herself a mental shake. She was letting her imagination run away with her. To be on the safe side though, when they sat down on the benches, she positioned herself in view of the hotel pool area. If Ash did anything inappropriate, she’d be able to attract the attention of her co-workers on the pool deck.

Once they were seated, she gave Ash an expectant look and waited for him to speak. She thought he was nervous, which made her feel better about how flustered she had been when he arrived.

Finally, Ash cleared his throat and spoke. “I came by, Emma, to apologize to you.” 

Surprised, she wasn’t sure how to respond. But he continued. “That day I ran into you and Clay on the street, I said some things about you that weren’t fair. I don’t know if Clay shared them with you, but I made some assumptions about you I shouldn’t have, and I am sorry for that.”

Emma didn’t speak, as she had no idea what to say, but Ash was looking at her waiting for a response. 

She took a deep breath. “Clay did tell me what you said, and I appreciate you coming to apologize, but if I’m completely honest with you, I wasn’t upset by what you said about me.” Ash’s eyebrows shot up, and she suspected her answer was not what he was expecting. “What made me angry was what you said about Clay.”

“What I said about Clay.” Ash repeated her words as if he was trying to understand her meaning.

His lack of a real response sparked Emma’s temper, and her reply was biting. “Yes, you accused him of being the kind of man who would lie to someone he respects, my father, and called him stupid. I don’t know why you would think that was okay to say, and it makes me think you don’t know Clay at all.”

“You’re right. It wasn’t okay for me to say that, and I have apologized to Clay.” Ash’s immediate agreement with her made Emma suspicious.

She took a deep breath to reply, but before she could, he spoke again. “You’re also correct in saying I don’t know my son well, but I’m trying to fix that. Perhaps you could help me.”

“Help you?” She raised one eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look. 

“I want to know Clay better, but our relationship has been difficult. I could see at dinner last week how much influence you have over my son. If you could encourage him to be more open to spending time with me, I would be grateful.”

He’d be grateful? Emma wondered if Ash was offering to bribe her or something, because that’s what it felt like. “I would never use whatever so-called influence I have over Clay to get him to do things he doesn’t want to. Maybe if you treated him better, he’d want to spend more time with you.”

Ash raised his hands in supplication. “You’re right. I haven’t always been the best father, but I’ve been trying to change that. You know I helped Clay in trying to get that Purple Heart for Brett Swann.

“I heard about it.” She answered in a flat voice.

Encouraged by her response, Ash kept going. “I would love for Clay to join me sometime on one of my tours. You could come too. People would love to see you both.”

At that moment, Emma realized what Ash wanted from Clay. He was looking for a prop to use on his book tour. Her expression tightened into a scowl. “Clay would never do that. He’s not a pet for you to trot out as part of your show. And, he would never do anything that would even suggest he might have broken classification.”

“You’re right. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking about that.” Ash backed off when he saw Emma wasn’t as easily convinced as he had hoped she’d be. “I want what’s best for Clay too, you know.”

She rolled her eyes. “Really?”

“Really. I didn’t help him with the Purple Heart only because of Swanny. I want Clay to be able to access any medical care he might need for head trauma, if that’s an issue for him in the future.” Ash sounded so sincere; Emma could almost believe him. “Clay’s important to me. I would hate it if you tried to get him to stop seeing me.”

Sighing, Emma gave Ash a scornful look. “Again, I wouldn’t push Clay to do things he doesn’t want to, and that includes stopping him from seeing you, if that’s what he wants to do.” Her eyes narrowed and her expression became harder. “But if you continue to treat him so poorly, insulting him like you did, then I would have no problem telling him he’d be better off without you.”

“Understood.” Ash nodded and looked pensive for a moment. “You know, when Stella was dating Clay, she made more of an effort to be friendly with me.”

Emma snorted. “When Stella was dating Clay, she dumped him on the tarmac as he was deploying. I hardly think she’s an example I want to follow.” Raising an eyebrow, Emma gave Ash a mocking look. “Sorry if I’m more interested in making Clay happy than you.”

Ash huffed out a frustrated breath. “You’re definitely Jason Hayes’ daughter, aren’t you?”

“I am.” She gave him a gratified smile. 

He shook his head and sent her a probing look. “Alright, it looks like we know where we stand then.”

Emma nodded in agreement. “It looks like we do.” She paused for a moment to see if he’d say anything more. When he didn’t, she continued. “I should get back to work. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” She stood, ready to head back to the lobby.

“You will.” Ash leaned back on the bench and waited to see if she’d say anything else.

Turning, she walked away towards the entrance to the hotel, leaving him on his own.

* * *

Unlocking the door to his apartment, Clay entered and dropped his rucksack on the living room floor. The bag was full of dirty laundry he had at the base. When the team returned from this latest spin up, he realized he didn’t have any clean clothes left in his cage.

He checked the time, as he didn’t want to call Emma too late. Seeing it was around ten thirty, he figured he could take a quick shower and then give her a call. He pulled some fresh boxers from his bureau and headed for the bathroom.

After his shower, Clay returned to his bedroom and pulled on some cotton pajama pants. Then he grabbed his phone and facetimed Emma. As he waited for her to answer, he went into the living room and dumped out the contents of his pack.

“Hey, you’re home.” Emma appeared on his screen, settled in bed in her room at the hotel. “You should have let me know you’d be back tonight.”

Clay smiled, happy to see her. “I thought we’d be home a lot later than this, so I didn’t want you to worry about getting over here. Especially because we both have to be up early for work in the morning anyway.”

She snuggled down into her bed. “I’d still rather see you in person.”

“Me too.” He propped his phone on the shelf above his washer and dryer and began to toss clothes into the washing machine. 

Emma’s eyes took on a teasing glint. “Because I’m lying here in my bed in your favorite nightgown, and if I had known you’d be home tonight, then I’d be in lying in your bed in your favorite nightgown.” She moved her phone to include the lacy top of her gown in the picture.

Clay’s eyes widened as he looked at her. “You’re a cruel, cruel woman Emma Hayes.”

She gave him a seductive smile. “Oh well, next time, I guess.”

Clay shook his head. Maybe he should have let her know, but he didn’t want her dragging over here to see him for a couple hours only to turn around and go before they both had to be back at work. “What were you up to while I was gone?”

“Nothing too exciting. Mainly working.” She paused a moment before continuing. “I did have a surprise visitor during my shift yesterday.”

He set the first load of laundry going, then picked up his phone and headed to his couch. “Who was that?”

Emma tilted her phone to frame her face better. “Your father.”

“Ash? Ash came to see you? Did he say why?” Clay sat forward on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees and holding the phone between them. He couldn’t imagine why Ash would go see Emma on her own, and he wasn’t sure he was happy about it.

“He said he came to apologize for what he said about me to you that day outside the bakery.” Emma sounded skeptical to Clay.

“He did?” Clay had a hard time believing that was Ash’s true reason as well.

“Yeah, but I think I surprised him when I thanked him but said I didn’t care about what he called me. That I was more upset about how he insulted you.”

Clay laughed. He loved that Emma wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “What did he say to that?”

“He said he apologized to you and he was trying to get to know you better. Then he suggested I could help him because he could see I had a lot of influence over you.” She gave him a mischievous grin. “Do I have a lot of ‘influence’ over you?” 

Emma’s emphasis on the word influence made Clay laugh again. “Oh, you definitely do.”

Tilting her head, she ran a finger down her neck towards the neckline of her gown. “Maybe I could come by tomorrow after work and ‘influence’ you again.”

Groaning to himself, Clay regretted once more he hadn’t told her he’d be home tonight. “You can influence me any time you want.”

She giggled. “Good to know.” Then her expression became more solemn. “I told him I’d never use any supposed power I have over you to get you to do things you didn’t want to. And, then I said maybe you’d want to spend more time with him if he treated you better.”

“Em, you don’t need to defend me to him.”

“I know, but his attitude made me so mad. He sounded like he was trying so hard to be friends with you, and it was you that was being so difficult. And we know that’s not true. Besides, you’re not stupid, and nobody should say you are!” Emma’s voice became louder as her temper rose.

“I appreciate that.” Settling back on the couch, Clay smiled at how upset she was becoming on his behalf. Having Emma be so protective of him gave him a warm feeling. It reminded him a little of how his grandmother had been when he was in Africa. 

“The other thing he suggested was that we join him on his book tour. He thought people would love seeing us. Is that crazy, or what? I told him you would never do anything like that and risk your career. Or make anyone think you were sharing classified information.” Her annoyance obvious, Emma sat up in bed again. 

“You’re right, I wouldn’t do that.” Clay frowned. He was sure Ash knew his son would never go on a book tour with him. He wondered if his father had been dangling the idea in front of Emma to gauge her interest in his minor fame. Ash had always enjoyed how impressed Stella was with him. “Did he have any other strange ideas?”

“No, that was it. Although, he did end the conversation by saying I was definitely Jason Hayes’ daughter. I don’t think he meant it as a compliment.” Sighing, she slid down under her covers again.

Clay laughed. “I’m sure he didn’t, but it was.”

His comment made Emma grin. “I agree.” Wrinkling her nose, she became more somber. “I don’t think he likes me much.”

“That’s his loss then.” 

“True, but I don’t want to make your relationship with him more difficult.” She frowned. “I know you’ve been trying to have a better connection with him.”

Clay leaned forward on the couch again, as if that would bring him closer to her. “Em, listen to me. If he has an issue with you, then it’s his problem. You are more important to me than him, and in the time we’ve been together you’ve given me more support than he ever has. I love you, and nothing he says or does will change that.”

Resting her head on her pillow, she gave him a soft smile. “I love you too.”

He returned her smile, and they both sat quietly for a moment. Eventually, Clay broke the silence. “Okay, I should let you go so you can get some sleep.”

“I guess. Are you going to get some sleep too?” 

He nodded. “Yeah, as soon as this load of laundry is done.”

“Promise?” She looked doubtful.

“I promise.”

“Okay, goodnight.” She blew him a kiss.

“Goodnight, baby. Sweet dreams.” He ended the call and tossed his phone on the couch. 

Leaning back against the cushions, he thought about getting up to see how much time was left for the load to finish. Maybe he could go to sleep and put it in the dryer in the morning. Deciding that was the best course of action, he turned out the living room lights, went into the bedroom, and crawled into bed.

* * *

That Friday night, Clay headed to Hampton, Virginia to meet Ash for a drink. Ash had texted Clay earlier in the week, asking if he wanted to get together. Interested in hearing what Ash had to say about his visit with Emma, Clay agreed.

Emma was having a girls night with Hannah and some other friends. Remembering the last time they all went out together, he hoped he wouldn’t get called to help with anyone who had too much to drink.

Walking into the bar, Clay looked for Ash. The place wasn’t too crowded for a Friday night and not seeing his father anywhere, he grabbed a high-top table for them. He began reading the beer list while he waited. The place had a large selection of craft beers on tap, and he was having a hard time deciding what he wanted.

Soon the waitress came by, and they chatted for a few minutes about the offerings. At her suggestion, he chose a Hefeweizen from a brewery in California he had never heard of. He continued to watch for Ash as he waited for his drink. He glanced at the appetizer menu and debated ordering from that as well.

Looking up from the menu, he saw Ash enter the bar. His father scanned the room until he saw Clay at the high-top and headed that way. Arriving at the table, Ash slapped Clay on the back. “Son, it’s good to see you. Glad you could make it.”

“Good to see you too.”

The waitress returned with Clay’s beer. Setting the glass on the table, she took Ash’s drink order, and Clay added some sliders and nachos to their tab as well.

Ash grinned at Clay when he heard his food choices. “Better keep working out if you want to eat like that.” 

Clay shrugged. “Just in the mood for some junk food tonight.”

Ash nodded, and they began chatting about what they had each been up to recently. While they talked, the waitress brought Ash’s beer over. 

Once they were caught up, Clay steered the discussion to Emma. “I hear you visited Emma at the hotel while I was spun up.”

Taking a sip from his glass, Ash placed it back on the table and smiled at Clay. “I did, and son, you need to marry that girl.”

Clay had been taking a drink from his beer when Ash spoke. He quickly set his glass down as he began choking on the liquid. Finally, he was able to clear his throat. “Did you say marry her?”

“I did. That girl is the real deal, and you’d be a fool to let her get away.”

Astounded, Clay wasn’t sure what to say. “You know we’ve only been dating since June?”

“I’m not saying you should elope tomorrow. In fact, don’t elope at all.” Ash nodded to himself as he considered it. “Having a real wedding with all the trimmings would be the best way to go politically.”

Clay started coughing as his next sip of beer went down the wrong way. “A wedding, with all the trimmings? What are you talking about?”

“Clay, son, that girl is the exact right wife for a man in your position. She obviously knows the drill about what it means to be with a SEAL. She’s already involved with volunteering with the commanding officer’s wife. She’ll look good on your arm at official events. Hold on to her.”

“I…are you serious?” Grabbing his glass, Clay took a gulp of his beer before his father could say anything else.

“Yes, I’m serious. Take your boss, Emma’s father. You think Hayes made it all the way to Master Chief without his wife’s help? Sure, you need to be talented and a leader, but the right wife is the extra edge that puts you over the top.”

“You being the expert on who to marry, of course.” Clay’s voice was slightly bitter sounding. 

“Learn from my mistake.” Ash slapped the table with his hand in a show of frustration. “I had the skill to lead my own team, but other guys were promoted ahead of me. Believe me when I tell you having every advantage possible makes a difference when the promotion review board looks at you. You think your CO’s wife doesn’t have an opinion on the wives of the men in her husband’s command? You think she doesn’t share that info with him? The politics are just as important as ability.” 

Before Clay could reply, the waitress returned with the food. Once she left, he took a slider from the plate and started eating, mainly in an effort to avoid responding to his father. 

Taking another sip from his beer, Ash waited for a response from Clay. When his son continued to eat, Ash continued. “You think I’m wrong? You think politics don’t come into play?”

Putting the remains of a slider on a plate, Clay answered. “No, I know they do. I’m trying to get past hearing my mother referred to as a mistake.” 

Ash gestured with his hand as if his remarks about his ex-wife meant nothing. “It’s nice you feel some loyalty to her, but she was not cut out to be married to a SEAL.”

Not being able to disagree with that opinion, Clay didn’t bother with a reply.

“Son, I mean it. Having the right wife will help you move up in the Navy, and Emma Hayes definitely fits the bill. Don’t screw this up.”

Shaking his head, Clay drained the last of his beer. “And that’s all it is to you, a way to get ahead in my career? What about love?”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Come on, Clay. You’re old enough to know better than to believe in fairy tales.”

Clay sighed. He wasn’t even going to get into that debate. “I didn’t think you liked Emma that much. She mentioned your conversation at the hotel ended on a not so friendly note.”

“She is a spitfire, your girl. I can’t deny it.” Ash smiled. “But that’s good. It’ll keep things interesting, in and out of bed. Because once you marry her, you want to stay married to her.”

“Another of your mistakes I should learn from? And, don’t talk about Emma like that.” Clay emphasized his statement with a hard glare at Ash, not appreciating any reference to Emma and bed. 

Ignoring Clay’s directive, Ash answered his son’s question. “Yes, it is. I mean it, Clay.” He tapped the table with his knuckle to emphasis his words. “You need a strong partner on your side. And, she’s certainly ready to stand up for you. You should have heard her telling me off for how poorly she thought I treated you. The two of you will make a great team.”

Clay couldn’t disagree with that. He and Emma did make a great team, but he was finding Ash’s all out push for Clay to marry her bizarre. They had only been dating for a few months, and he had learned his lesson about committing too soon with Stella. He couldn’t say the idea of a future with Emma hadn’t floated around deep in the back of his mind, but they were in no way ready for that.

“Look, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but as I said, we’ve only been together since June. Emma still has three years left at NYU, and that’s too important to her for me to get in the way of. Also, Jason would kill me if I asked his twenty-year-old daughter to marry me.”

Ash frowned. “That would be a problem anyway. If you marry her, your team leader would be your father-in-law. That’s an issue for your chain of command, but Hayes should retire or move on from team leader at some point. Until he does, you have some time.”

Clay, who had started to scoop a bunch of the nachos onto his plate, stopped what he was doing and gave Ash an exasperated look. “You’ve thought this through way too much. Besides, Jason isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

Shaking his head, Ash spoke in a patronizing tone. “Didn’t he have a hip replacement or something like that last year? It’s a matter of time before he physically can’t do it anymore. Trust me, son, I know what I’m talking about.”

Sighing, Clay decided he had enough of this conversation. “Look, I appreciate you think enough of Emma that you want me to marry her, but it isn’t happening right now or in the near future. We’re not at that point yet. So, I need you to drop it.”

“Okay, okay, but don’t do anything foolish like break up with her.” Seeing Clay ready to snap at him, Ash backed off. “I’ll stop, but I’m only thinking of you and your future.”

“Thank you, but I think I can handle my future fine on my own.”

Grabbing the last slider, Ash looked at his son with a raised eyebrow. “If you say so, son. If you say so.”

* * *

Later Clay headed out of the bar by himself. He was still taken aback by the surreal conversation with Ash about marrying Emma. Leave it to his father to think marriage was a steppingstone for a better career. If Clay ever asked Emma to marry him, he knew it would be because he loved her and wanted to spend his life with her, not because she would be useful in advancing himself in the Navy.

It wasn’t that Clay didn’t love Emma now, he did, and she returned his feelings, but they had a lot to work out before they were ready for the kind of commitment marriage required. Emma would be returning to New York in September and talk at the base this week said Bravo was deploying then as well. Getting through that separation would be challenge enough for them. For now his grandmother’s ring would stay in his lock box and maybe in the future, when the moment was right, he’d give it to Emma.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight gets in the way of Emma and Hannah's friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally got this epic saga of a chapter done. I expect there will be one more chapter for "More Than Friends," but I'm going to focus on SEAL Team Week for a bit, so it may be a little while before I get that last one published.

* * *

Emma marched down the hallway to Clay’s apartment, the door keys clenched in her fist. Muttering imprecations to herself, she stabbed the key at the lock, missing the opening on her first try. Growling under her breath, she forced it in on her second, opening the door with so much power it flew back and banged against the wall inside.

Clay glanced up in surprise from the book he was reading. “Whoa, what did that door ever do to you?”

Her eyes narrowed as she studied Clay where he sat on the couch, feet propped on the coffee table. She was in no mood for joking around. She dropped her bag on the floor and slammed her purse and keys down on the counter between the kitchen and living room. 

Marking his page with his bookmark, Clay closed the book and placed it on the end table. “I thought you were having lunch with Hannah and that guy, her sort of boyfriend.”

“They may be having lunch, but I didn’t stay to enjoy the meal.” Emma snorted and threw herself down on the other end of the couch. “And the sort of boyfriend’s name is Tyler, although asshole would work fine too.”

Clay’s eyebrows shot up at Emma’s comment. “What happened?”

She huffed out an annoyed breath. “I met them at Lobstertails on the beach—”

“Isn’t that the place where the waitresses wear cutoffs and bikini tops?” Clay cut in. “Doesn’t seem like the type of restaurant you should take your girlfriend when you’re meeting her best friend.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think Tyler considers Hannah his girlfriend, and even if he did, I doubt he’d worry too much about her feelings. The minute we walked in he started checking out every woman there.” Unable to sit still, Emma sprang up from the couch and began pacing the room. Her hands squeezed into fists as she moved. “He was all over our waitress when we were ordering. Then when Hannah had to leave the table to take a phone call outside, he started hitting on me!”

Clay dropped his feet to the floor and sat up. “He hit on you?”

“Yes! I tried to laugh him off at first, but he wouldn’t drop it.”

“Did you tell him you have a boyfriend?” Clay asked.

“Of course, but his type doesn’t care. The worst part was when Hannah came back, she overheard us and—”

“He didn’t touch you, did he?” Clay leaned forward and caught Emma’s hand as she stomped by him on her way across the room. 

Clay’s hand stopping her forward motion, she turned to glare at him. “No, but he convinced Hannah that I was flirting with him. And she believed him! She actually thought I—"

“I can’t believe this bastard thought it was okay to make a move on you.” Shaking his head, Clay tugged Emma closer. 

“Oh my God, Clay! Get over it! If you get annoyed every time some random guy hits on me, you’ll be spending a lot of your time upset.” She shook off his hand and stalked away.

He scrubbed his hands in his hair. “I shouldn’t be bothered that this jerk thought it was okay to make a pass at you?”

“I’m not your possession.”

“I know you’re not, but—”

“But nothing! You’re not even listening to me. I’m trying to tell you about how my best friend believes I hit on her so-called boyfriend. That she thinks I would do something like that to her, and all you care about is someone trying to move in on your territory!” She turned and grabbed her purse and keys from the counter.

“Emma, you’re not being fair! That’s not all I care about.” He stood and moved towards her.

“That’s what it feels like.” She went to pick up her bag from the floor. “I think I should go.”

“No! Don’t.” He reached out and caught her arm again. “You’re upset.”

As she swung the straps of her bag over her other shoulder, Emma gave him a pointed stare.

“Okay, we’re both upset, but you shouldn’t drive right now. You’re angry and it isn’t safe. I don’t want you to be in an accident.”

Once Clay said that, all Emma’s righteous anger dissipated. He hit on the one reason she couldn’t argue. After what had happened to her mother, she would never be cavalier about careless driving.

“Fine, but I need some space. I’m going to take a shower.” Placing her purse and keys back on the counter and still carrying her overnight bag, Emma disappeared into the bathroom. She found she needed a large amount of self-control to keep herself from slamming the door behind herself. 

* * *

Before he could say another word, Clay watched the bathroom door shut firmly behind Emma. He stood frozen for a moment, not sure what just happened. Then he sank back down on the couch as he went over their conversation in his head. Maybe conversation wasn’t the best word; perhaps argument would be a better choice.

As he thought through what they each had said, he realized he had ignored what Emma was trying to tell him. She had been upset about what happened with Hannah, and he steamrolled over that and became caught up in the idea of this asshole hitting on his girl. Why did he do that?

He didn’t think of Emma as his possession. He knew guys were going to hit on her. Of course they would. She was beautiful and smart and funny. But he trusted her. Why did it bother him so much this time?

The sound of the shower running started up, distracting him from his internal debate. Now images of Emma naked and wet under the spray of water drifted into his head. He did his best to push those visions aside. There was no way she would be open to him joining her. He wasn’t completely stupid.

Sighing, he let his head drop back against the couch. Maybe he was that dumb. He should have been better at listening to what Emma had been trying to tell him. That thought brought him back to the question of why did this guy hitting on her, at this time disturb him so much.

As he sat there lulled by the rhythmic sound of the shower, Clay let his mind wander. And then he knew exactly what his issue was. In a few short weeks, Emma would be heading back to school in New York. He had been trying hard not to think about her leaving, immediately shutting down any thought of her departure before it could take root in his brain. But not thinking about her going wouldn’t stop it from happening.

Soon she would be back in the City with her friends and in her music program. There would be plenty of guys around, sitting by her in class, eating with her in the cafeteria, and going to the same parties. He knew Emma would never cheat on him, but maybe she’d get tired of the whole long-distance thing and decide being with one of those guys would be easier. She’d break up with him and start spending her time with someone who could enjoy the same things at NYU.

And this, Clay knew, was why he became so hung up today on this jerk making a move on her. Deep down he was afraid Emma would go back to school and dump him for some college boy.

The sound of the shower cut off, breaking him out of his reverie. Now he knew what his problem was, but he wasn’t sure there was any way to solve it. The only thing he could do was apologize to Emma for being an ass and believe what they had was enough.

He sat there and formulated different ways to say he was sorry. Every one sucked. Before he was ready with a solid apology, the bathroom door opened, and Emma appeared, hesitating in the doorway. With her wet hair twisted up on her head, she wore a pair of cutoffs and one of his t-shirts knotted at her waist. He took the t-shirt as a positive sign.

Their eyes met across the room, and they both spoke.

“I’m sorry. You were—”

“I shouldn’t have—”

Then they both stopped, wanting to let the other speak. Neither said anything for a moment, and Clay gave Emma a self-conscious smile. She darted across the room and threw herself into his arms.

“Oh, Em, I’m sorry. You were right. I wasn’t listening to you. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset about that jerk.”

She lifted her head from his chest to look at him. “Yeah, but I was mad at Hannah, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“You were trying to tell me something important, and I should have paid better attention.” Clay pushed a strand of damp hair away from Emma’s face and tucked it behind her ear.

She took a deep breath and released it. “Why didn’t you?”

He let his eyes close for a moment and then opened them, looking into her solemn face. “I… maybe because you’re heading back to school soon and…” His voice faded away as he wavered on telling her what he had realized earlier.

A wistful smile flickered across her face. “It doesn’t matter where I am. I love you.”

“I love you too.” He gave her a soft kiss and pulled back to meet her gaze. “But my spin ups make having a relationship challenging. And once we’re apart, it will be more difficult. And when we deploy…”

Emma nodded. “I know, but difficult or not, I would never cheat on you.”

“I know.” Clay squeezed her hand lying on his chest. “But maybe there will be someone at school that will fit into your life better than me.”

“If that’s what I wanted, I could have started dating any of them before this, but I didn’t want them then and I don’t want them now. I want you.” She turned her hand in his and laced their fingers together. “Besides, what about all those women on the base during your deployment? I’ve heard Uncle Sonny talking. They think you SEALs are rock stars. They’ll be throwing themselves at you.”

“Em, I would never cheat on you either.”

“I know, but they probably understand your life better, and they’re more experienced than me.” Self-conscious, she dropped her head down, letting her gaze fall from his and studying their intertwined fingers.

“Hey, hey, you understand my life just fine, and you have nothing to worry about in the experience department, okay?” With his free hand, he used a finger under her chin to tilt her head back up to look at him. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Clay leaned forward and kissed Emma. “There’s no one who understands my life better than you.”

Smiling at his words, she returned his kiss and snuggled into his chest. “I don’t like fighting with you.”

“I don’t like it either.” He gently stroked her hair, and they lay together on the couch quietly, enjoying each other’s presence.

Clay dozed, and he assumed Emma did the same, but he came awake with a start when he noticed her shoulders shaking on his chest. Once the haze of sleepiness faded, he realized she was crying. Was she still upset from their fight? 

Emma wasn’t a big crier. In fact, in the entire time they had been dating she hadn’t cried at all, not even when she was upset about her mother being mentioned in all the talk about them being together. 

“Em, baby, what’s wrong?” He softly rubbed her back.

Lifting her tear-stained face to look at him, she scrubbed the wetness from her eyes with the back of her hand. “Hannah and I have been best friends since we were five years old. How can she think I would do something like that to her? Even if I weren’t with you, I would never try to steal her boyfriend.”

“I’m sure she knows. It’s hard realizing the person you have feelings for doesn’t return them, and it’s probably easier for her right now to be angry at you than him. Give her a day or two to deal with it, and then she’ll be ready to make-up with you.” Using his thumb, Clay wiped another tear away from Emma’s face.

“I guess.” She didn’t look totally convinced.

“I’m sorry. I suppose it still hurts though.”

“Yeah,” Emma said, her voice hoarse from crying.

Wanting to comfort her, he held her close and gave her a gentle kiss. Pulling back, he looked down at her forlorn expression. A sad smile slipped across her face, and she kissed him back. At first hers was as affectionate as his had been, but then she pressed closer, desire growing between them. Soon she moved to kissing his neck and nibbling on his earlobe.

Groaning, he pulled back and examined her closely. “Em, are you sure?”

Although her voice was still husky from her tears, a teasing glint returned to her eyes. “Yeah, besides isn’t this the part where we have make-up sex?”

He grinned. “Definitely. I don’t think we can call it a fight if we don’t have make-up sex.”

“Well, then…” Settling on his lap, she went back to kissing his neck.

* * *

For the rest of the weekend, Emma concentrated on enjoying her time with Clay. They spent Sunday together at Crystal Lake, which had become one of their special places to hang out. That evening when she returned to her room at the hotel, she tried texting Hannah but received no reply. Emma had hoped to hear back as she wanted to work out her problems with Hannah and because Cathy Porter was coming back to Virginia Beach to visit them. They needed to make up for Cathy’s visit.

Now on her own, there was nothing to distract Emma from dwelling on the situation with her friend. While going through her closet to make sure she had a clean hotel shirt for the morning, Emma debated if she should try to catch Hannah after her job at the day camp tomorrow. The hurt Emma still felt at Hannah’s lack of trust was sharp, and she thought it was her friend’s place to make the first move. But Cathy didn’t deserve to have her trip to Virginia Beach ruined by drama between Hannah and Emma.

This trip would be the first time Cathy returned to Virginia Beach since her mom moved their family after Cathy’s father died. Emma had been looking forward to this visit for a while, as she, Cathy, and Hannah would finally be together after almost two years. For the last month they had been talking and texting about everything they wanted to do. They thought Cathy should split her time between staying with Emma at the hotel and Hannah at her house. But then, Tyler called Hannah and told her he was coming to town with some of his fraternity brothers. His stay would overlap with Cathy’s, and Hannah started acting vague about all the plans the friends had made.

As far as Emma could tell, Hannah planned on doing nothing but wait around for Tyler to call to do things with her while he was in town. Having met Tyler, Emma was surprised the meetup for lunch yesterday even happened. She hated that Hannah was willing to let this jerk treat her so poorly. She deserved so much better, and Emma couldn’t understand why her best friend didn’t realize it.

Satisfied she had everything ready for the morning, Emma began getting ready to go to sleep. After washing up and changing, she settled into bed and picked up her phone to text Clay goodnight. 

* * *

A couple days later, Clay sipped from his beer and observed Ray and Sonny battle it out at the dart board at the Bulkhead. The entire team was out having a few drinks after the completion of two days of training ops in preparation for their deployment. They were always training, but these ops were specific to the types of missions the team would most likely carry out on their upcoming trip to Afghanistan.

Jason sat down on the stool next to Clay. “Who’s winning?”

“Ray is leading, just barely.”

Nodding, Jason studied the bottom of his beer glass. “Do you know what’s going on between Emma and Hannah?”

Clay frowned. This was one of those times when dating his boss’s daughter was challenging. What was okay to tell Jason? There was a thin line sometimes between common knowledge about Emma and privileged information Clay was in possession of. Sometimes he found it difficult to navigate where the line was when speaking to Jason.

“I ran into Victoria at the grocery story on Sunday night. She mentioned Hannah was upset with Emma. Something to do with a guy?” Jason’s confusion at why his daughter and her friend would have an issue over a guy when Emma was in a relationship with Clay was obvious.

Sighing, Clay caught the attention of the waitress, so they could order another round. “This jerk, that’s the politest thing I can call him, Hannah was seeing when she was still at school, is visiting Virginia Beach. Emma met them for lunch on Saturday, and he hit on her.”

“Who hit on Emma?” Sonny cut into their conversation as he and Ray returned to the table.

“This guy Hannah is at UVA with.” Wanting to be ready for the next round, Clay gulped down the rest of the beer in his glass.

“I hope you shut this guy down.”

Trent and Brock joined them at the table and looked to Clay as they waited to hear his response to Sonny’s comment.

“I wasn’t there. I only heard about it after.” Turning to Jason, Clay continued. “Hannah was angry with Emma over it, and they haven’t spoken since.”

As Clay finished giving Jason, and the rest of the team, the details, the waitress arrived at the table. She took their order for fresh drinks and headed to the bar.

Running a hand through his hair, Jason frowned. “This is the asshole that’s been stringing Hannah along since she was at school this winter.”

“Yeah.” Clay sighed. “And Emma’s pretty upset about the situation. She’s hurt Hannah would believe she’d flirt with a friend’s boyfriend.”

Before any of the guys could comment, the waitress returned with their drinks. 

Ray took a sip of his new beer and shook his head thoughtfully. “My advice is don’t get in the middle of their disagreement. You may think you’re being supportive by agreeing with whatever she says while angry, but once they make-up you’re the one who thought bad things about her friend.”

“Uh huh.”

“Oh yeah.”

Both Jason and Trent chimed in, agreeing with Ray’s statement.

“I’ll remember.” Clay thought Ray’s advice was definitely worth keeping in mind.

Setting his glass down on the table with a loud click, Sonny gazed at his teammates in frustration. “That’s all well and good, but what are we goin’ to do about this bastard who’s been treatin’ Hannah so poor and hittin’ on Emma?”

“Sonny, he’s a twenty-year-old frat boy, and as much as I’d like to give him a beating, it’d be our careers if we touched him.” Looking frustrated, Jason took a long drink of his beer.

“So that’s it? We do nothin’?” Sonny scrutinized each of his teammates around the table. His gaze finally landed on Clay. “What about you, Blondie? He hit on your girl. You just gonna do nothin’?”

“Oh no, Emma already chewed me out for being angry about this guy making a move on her.” Clay shook his head at Sonny. “The last thing I need is you dragging me back into it.”

Brock raised an eyebrow. “She chewed you out, huh?

“Sounds like trouble in paradise,” Trent said with a grin.

Scrubbing his hands through his hair, Clay sighed. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned Emma being upset with him to the team, but he didn’t want Sonny pulling him into some half-baked plan to deal with this asshole. “She told me if I got mad every time some random guy hit on her I’d be spending a lot of my time upset.”

Jason laughed. “That’s my girl.”

“Who are these random guys hitting on Emma? I don’t like the sound of that.” Frowning, Sonny turned to Clay for an explanation.

Ray offered his own opinion. “Emma’s a beautiful young woman. You think guys don’t notice?”

“Don’t mean they should be makin’ a move on her.” Shaking his head, Sonny picked up his half-full glass.

Smiling, Ray shrugged. “Right, because you never hit on women you find attractive.

Sonny had been about to take a drink but stopped to protest. “That’s not the same at all.”

The guys all laughed until Ray interjected. “Uh huh, not at all the same.”

“It’s not!”

The rest of the team stared at Sonny in disbelief.

“It’s not. Because I’m just interested in those ladies for some company, and nobody should be thinkin’ ‘bout Emma like that.” Realizing he was still holding his beer, Sonny tilted it up and drained the glass.

At his friend’s words, Clay looked down into his drink and pretended a deep interest in the bottom of the mug. This was another one of those difficult times. He loved Emma, and he wasn’t with her because he only wanted her company, as Sonny had phrased it. But he was attracted to Emma, and he enjoyed the times they were intimate together. Sometimes when he saw her, being with her physically was exactly what he thought about. Figuring the best thing he could do was avoid catching the eyes of his teammates, particularly Jason’s, he continued to stare into his beer.

Ray shook his head. “Sonny, as a father, I understand what you’re saying, but the fact is there are guys who are thinking about Emma like that when they see her, BUT she’s with Clay, and she’s not going to go off with one of them.”

“I guess.” Sonny didn’t look convinced. “I still say we need to do somethin’ ‘bout this punk hurtin’ Hannah though. I don’t like it, and Adam wouldn’t either.”

A sting of guilt hit Clay when he heard Sonny’s comment about Adam. He knew the Texan was right. Adam wouldn’t like Hannah being hurt by this loser. But as much as Clay wanted to handle the situation, Jason had made a good point too. Unless this kid did something overt to hurt Hannah, or Emma, their hands were tied.

“Sonny, you’re right. Adam wouldn’t be happy about the situation, but he also wouldn’t be happy if any of us ruined our careers. I’m not saying we ignore what’s happening, but we can’t go off with some irrational plan to deal with the kid.” Jason rubbed his hand over his beard, then turned to Clay. “You’re going to have to be our eyes in this situation, assuming Emma and Hannah straighten things out.”

Clay nodded. “I think they’ll have to work things out. Cathy Porter arrived in Virginia Beach today for a visit, and Emma mentioned a bunch of plans the three of them have made. But I’m not spying on Emma. She’s my girlfriend, and I’m not going to use that.”

“It wouldn’t be spyin’ exactly, just makin’ sure we know what’s goin’ on.” Sonny nodded, looking satisfied his explanation would convince Clay.

Shaking his head, Clay gave Sonny a skeptical glance. “And how is that not spying?”

“Weeell—”

Before Sonny could answer, Ray cut him off. “It would be spying to Emma, and she wouldn’t be happy about it. That’s a good way to ruin a relationship.”

Jason held up a hand. “Hold on, hold on. I don’t mean you should be spying on Emma. Tell her we’re concerned about Hannah and want to step in if it gets to be a problem. She may not be thrilled with us, especially me, but I’m not asking you to go behind her back.”

“Okay, I guess.” Clay glanced around the table at his teammates. “But if this gets Emma upset with me, I am sending her after all of you.”

“Maybe you could buy her flowers and take her out for a fancy dinner before you tell her. Then she won’t get so mad.” Sonny nodded thoughtfully as he laid out his plan to Clay.

“Right, because trying to bribe her before telling her I’m working with her dad and all of you to butt into her life, will help win her over.” This was one of those times Clay wished Emma was not his team leader’s daughter.

“That’s good advice right there, Blondie. I know what I’m talkin’ about.” Sonny poked Clay in the chest to emphasize his point.

Snorting, Clay stepped out of Sonny’s reach. “Thanks, but I’ll stick with Ray’s advice. He’s the one who’s in a successful relationship.”

“Hey, the rest of us can give good dating advice too.” Sonny grumbled at Clay’s words.

“Right. Trent’s been dating someone for a while, so I’d listen to him too, but no one else.” Then seeing a way to take the focus off himself in this conversation and to razz Jason at the same time, Clay threw out a teasing comment. “Although, I’d probably listen to Jason’s advice as well, since he can still attract the younger ladies.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jason raised an eyebrow at Clay.

Grinning at them all, Clay paused a moment before answering. “I mean you being named the hottest dad in Emma’s dorm this past year.”

“What?” The shock on Jason’s face was priceless, and the expressions on the other guys’ faces were pretty good too.

“Yeah, I guess when you were up there to see Emma perform some of her friends saw you, and it was decided in the dorm you were the hottest dad. You’ve still got it, Jase.” Clay chuckled, while the rest of team began teasing their leader.

Once the ribbing died down, Jason pointed a finger at Clay. “You, and my daughter, are going to regret sharing that piece of information. Believe me, there will be consequences.” His eyes swept around the table, putting a stop to the last few chuckles. “I need something stronger than a beer.”

Jason stalked off to the bar.

Turning to follow, Ray laughed at Clay. “I think he’s serious.” He then included the others in his gaze. “Anyone else need another drink?”

“I’ll come with.” Sonny headed after their 2IC.

Brock snorted under his breath. “You’ve been saving that one for a while, haven’t you?”

Clay flashed him a grin. “Oh yeah, so long, just waiting for the right moment.”

Chuckling, Trent shook his head. “He’s not kidding about the consequences, but that look on his face was worth it.”

“So worth it.” 

Trent held up his fist, and Clay bumped it. There weren’t many occasions when he was able to get one over on Jason.

* * *

People crowded into the restaurants along the Virginia Beach strip, but Emma and Cathy Porter were able to snag a table on the deck of one of the more popular places. The two friends enjoyed the view of the beach along with some appetizers and drinks while they caught up with each other’s lives.

“I wish Hannah was here too. I’m sorry our drama is affecting your visit.” Emma swirled the straw in her drink as she spoke. She had hoped Hannah would soften, and they would make-up before Cathy’s arrival.

“It’s okay, Em. I know it’s not your fault. I spoke to Hannah this morning, and you’re not the one being stubborn.” Cathy took a soft pretzel stick from the basket in front of them and dipped it into the cheese sauce.

“Thanks for understanding. I wish I understood why she’s being so stubborn about this.” Emma sighed and comforted herself with some cheese fries they had on the table.

Cathy pointed her pretzel at Emma. “I have some ideas, but I want to see Hannah in person and meet this guy before I say for sure.”

“Okay.” Emma missed Cathy’s matter-of-fact common sense. Her friend had always been the one in high school to straighten out everyone’s drama.

“Now, let’s talk about something more interesting. When is this boyfriend of yours getting here? I need to give him the once over.”

Emma gave Cathy a shy smile. “He should be here in about twenty minutes. He went out with the team after work for drinks.”

“Oh no, not the team drinking night!” 

“Don’t worry, he’ll be here.” Taking a sip of her drink, Emma continued. “Are you sure you’re okay with him joining us? I don’t want to be one of those people who forces her boyfriend on her friends all the time because she can’t socialize on her own.”

“It’s one dinner, Emma. If you make him come everywhere with us while I’m here, that’ll be another story.” Grinning, Cathy raised an eyebrow at Emma. “Besides, like I said, I need to check him out. Make sure he’s good enough for you.”

“He is. I promise.”

Cathy’s expression became somber. “I know I probably met him around the time my Dad died, but I don’t remember.”

“You had a lot going on.” Emma reached over and squeezed Cathy’s hand resting on the table. “I met him when he joined Bravo back then, and I remember thinking he was handsome, but just one of my Dad’s guys.”

Cathy laughed. “That’s because you were too busy chasing that guy, what was his name? You know, from Hudson State.”

“Julian.” Emma rolled her eyes as she thought of the boy she liked when she was in high school. With hindsight, she realized how immature he was.

“Right! Julian.”

“He was kind of a jerk, huh?”

Nodding, Cathy gave Emma a teasing grin. “Yeah, kind of, but he did have great hair.”

“He did, didn’t he? But I think he spent more time doing his hair than a model.” Emma shook her head. “There should be a rule about not dating guys that take more time to do their hair than you do.”

“Agreed. So does Clay have great hair?” Cathy asked in a playful tone.

Smiling, Emma pictured Clay in her mind. “Yeah, he does. When it gets a little long, the ends become curly, and it’s really blond right now because of the sun. And—”

“Emma Hayes! You are so lovesick over him!”

Emma hid her face behind her hands. “Oh God, I am. I totally am.”

“It’s a good thing. Really.” Gently pulling Emma’s hands from her face, Cathy smiled. “You’ve sounded so happy whenever I’ve spoken to you this summer. This is the happiest I’ve seen you since your Mom.”

“Yeah, I am happy. You will be too,” Emma said with conviction.

Cathy smiled at Emma’s words. “I’m getting there. I’ll never be completely over my Dad, you know? But, I’m ready to be happy now. I’m looking forward to starting at JMU. Taking a year off after high school to help my Mom and little brother was the right thing to do. I don’t think I would have handled college very well last year, but I’m ready now.”

The both sat quietly for a minute, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few years. Then Emma glanced at the time on her phone. “Okay, if Clay doesn’t get here in the next ten minutes, we should order our dinners without him.”

Cathy grabbed a menu. “Works for me, but the waitress seems to be pointing a guy in our direction. Is that Clay?”

Turning to see, a big smile broke out on Emma’s face. “Yes, that’s him.” She waved to catch his attention.

“Emma, he is even hotter in person! Way better than Julian and his hair any day.”

Emma giggled and gave Cathy a knowing smile. “Way better.”

Arriving at the table, Clay gave Emma a light kiss. She introduced Cathy to Clay, and he sat down. The waitress came by, and they ordered. Then they settled into general conversation about a variety of things, what Clay had been up to today, Cathy’s plans for classes this fall, crazy things that happened at the hotel, and what Emma and Cathy planned on doing together during her visit. The conversation flowed, and Emma was pleased to see her boyfriend and her friend getting along so well. 

Dinner flew by, and soon they paid the check and headed out of the restaurant. Clay offered to give Emma and Cathy a ride back to the hotel since they had walked over. As they went to where Clay had parked, they chatted about Emma and Cathy’s plans to go to the beach the next day. Upon reaching Clay’s truck, he opened the door and Emma climbed in to sit in the middle and then Cathy to sit by the door.

Traffic on the strip was slow, making the drive to the hotel take longer than walking the distance. Flipping through the radio channels, Emma found a good song and turned it up. She and Cathy started to sing along, and for the first time since her fight with Hannah on Saturday, Emma felt everything would work out. Cathy being here would help.

Emma turned to Clay and their gazes met as he glanced away from the road while they were stopped at a red light. Wanting to share her cheerful mood, she gave him a huge smile and leaned in to kiss him. When she sat back, Clay smiled in return and squeezed her leg before turning his attention to the road again.

They arrived back at the hotel, and Clay parked the truck. Hopping out, Cathy smiled at Clay and Emma. “Thanks for the ride, Clay. It was great meeting you. I’m going to admire the view of the ocean over here in case anyone wants to say goodnight or anything.” She walked away from them to look out at the water. “Not paying attention to anything else.”

Clay pulled Emma close in his arms as they both chuckled at Cathy’s comments. “So you’re at the beach tomorrow. Are you two going out in the evening too?”

“No, Cathy’s meeting Hannah, and Tyler supposedly, for dinner.” Emma slipped her arms around Clay’s neck and leaned into him.

“Then I’ll be in touch when I know what time I’ll be done on base. Maybe we can have dinner.” Clay’s hands rubbed her back.

“We could get takeout at your place.” She pressed her lips to his for a kiss goodnight.

His lips nibbled at hers as his hands slid down and brought her hips closer to his. He broke off the kiss to speak. “Takeout sounds good.”

“Perfect.” Emma sighed, tightening her arms around his neck to bring his face closer again.

They stood kissing, and desire rippled through Emma. She wished he didn’t have to leave, but she had company. Pushing her craving for more aside, she broke off their kiss and stepped away. Staying in Clay’s arms was too tempting. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “As long as we don’t run late with training.” He stepped forward to give her another kiss goodbye.

She quickly stepped back. “Oh no, if you do that, we’ll be here all night.” 

Laughing, Clay reached out and stroked her cheek. “Okay, love you. See you tomorrow.”

Catching his hand as it dropped from her face, she gave it a squeeze. “Love you too.” She let go of his hand and turned to get Cathy. “Done admiring the scenery?”

Cathy laughed and moved forward to hook her arm through Emma’s. “All done. Night, Clay.”

Both Cathy and Emma waved to Clay as he waited for them go safely into the hotel employee entrance.

As soon as they were through the door and out of Clay’s hearing, Cathy turned to Emma. “Emma! He is fantastic, and I don’t mean because he’s so gorgeous.”

Emma gave her a delighted smile. “He is, isn’t he? I know I’m biased, but he’s so terrific.”

“And, I’d say from that goodnight kiss, he’s talented in other areas too.” Cathy laughed as her words made Emma’s cheeks heat with a blush.

“Cathy!”

“Just sayin’. Are you going to tell me that’s not the case?” 

Emma’s blush turned an even deeper red, and she glanced down in embarrassment. “No.” Then she looked up at Cathy again and gave her a sly smile. “That’s not the case at all.”

Together they giggled as they headed down the hall towards Emma’s room.

“Wait, I thought you were admiring the view. How would you know what our kiss was like?” Emma tilted her head Cathy.

Cathy let out a snicker. “I may have peeked just a little.”

Both girls grinned at each other as they reached Emma’s door and went inside.

* * *

The next day Emma and Cathy spent a fun time at the beach. They worked on their tans, cooled off in the water, and admired a group of cute guys playing volleyball. As much as she enjoyed the day with Cathy, Emma wished Hannah could have been there as well. Not having her best friend with them felt wrong.

In the late afternoon, they headed back to Emma’s room at the hotel to shower and prepare for their evenings. Clay had texted Emma earlier, and they made plans to meet at his place for dinner. Cathy was meeting Hannah and Tyler at another restaurant on the boardwalk.

The two friends laughed and joked as they chose outfits and got dressed. Cathy borrowed a skirt and helped pick the best sundress for Emma to wear. The two finally decided on a casual, blue one that would, in Cathy’s words, make Clay crazy.

Emma offered to give her friend a ride to the restaurant, but Cathy declined, deciding instead to walk. The two separated for their evening plans, Cathy heading towards the strip and Emma getting in her car to drive to Clay’s apartment.

Happy to be seeing Clay this evening, Emma sang along with the radio as she drove. She was very aware of the summer winding down, and as much as she enjoyed Cathy being here, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her boyfriend.

Once she arrived at Clay’s apartment complex, she parked the car and hopped out. Entering the building, she went up the stairs, meeting the pizza delivery guy on his way down. Emma had agreed to pizza for dinner this evening because she didn’t care what they ate, and she knew Clay really wanted a meat lovers pie.

“I’m here!” Emma called out as she opened the apartment door.

Clay came out of the bedroom pulling on a t-shirt. “Perfect timing. The pizza arrived. It’s on the counter.”

Emma was sidetracked as she watched Clay’s abs disappear under his shirt as he tugged it down. His skin and hair were still damp from the shower he must have taken when he arrived home, and she contemplated how much she wanted to start kissing his damp skin and lick away any droplets of water that were remaining.

“Emma. Hey, Emma.” Clay’s voice broke into her study of his skin.

Blinking, she met his gaze. “Sorry, I was a little distracted.”

“And what was distracting you?” He grinned as he stepped closer to her.

“Um, well, I just…” Emma found it difficult, and embarrassing, to put what she had been thinking and feeling into words. 

He moved even closer and slid his arms around her waist, leaning down to murmur in her ear. “You distract me too. Particularly when you wear things like this.” He slipped a finger under one of the thin straps of her sundress and gave it a tweak.

“Yeah?” Emma breathed out her question on a sigh.

“Yeah,” Clay replied, lifting his head to see her face again.

Their eyes met, and Emma pressed her lips to Clay’s. A rush of desire flooded through her, and she crowded into him, wanting to bring her body as near to his as possible. Clay’s arms tightened around her waist, pulling her hips against him. He deepened the kiss, and her lips parted. But she wanted more. She needed more.

She slipped her hands under his shirt to caress the muscles of his back, scraping her nails lightly across his skin. He groaned deep in his throat, and his reaction emboldened her. Sliding her hands down past the waistband of his shorts and boxers, she squeezed the firm globes of his backside. 

Clay’s hips flexed in response to her touch. “Emma,” he moaned, and one of his hands moved to grasp the material of her dress. He dragged the skirt up above her waist, and she felt the cool air on the skin of her bottom, left bare by her thong. His hands moved to cup her there, and she shivered at the sensation of his rough hands stroking her skin.

Moaning his name, Emma broke her mouth away from his lips and began to kiss and nip at his neck. Her body thrummed with hunger for him, and she pressed her hips closer to him in an effort to find the satisfaction she craved. As if in answer to her desire, Clay’s hand moved down the back of her thigh and lifted her leg to wrap it around his waist.

Finding it difficult to balance, she rose up on the toes of her foot remaining on the floor and moved her arms to rest on his shoulders. Clay solved her problem by lifting her up and curling her other leg around his waist as well. His hands gripped her bottom and pressed her to his hardness. Waves of pleasure spread through Emma, and she ground herself against him more firmly. That feeling was what she had been reaching for, and she needed more.

“God, Emma.” Clay groaned as he began moving with her in his arms to his bedroom. 

She smiled against his neck, then nipped at his earlobe. “I want you,” she whispered in his ear.

Finally, making it into the bedroom, he lowered her to the bed, following her down to the mattress. Before he could settle onto her, she began yanking his t-shirt up, needing to touch the bare skin of his chest and back. He lifted up and helped her by pulling the shirt over his head and tossing it away. Then he began unbuttoning the bodice of her dress, pushing the material apart to reveal her bare breasts. His hands began caressing her, his thumbs rubbing across her nipples.

“Mmm, Clay, please.” Her back arched, pressing her breasts into his hands.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed as he watched her move under him.

Her eyes blinked open and met his. “I need you, Clay. Now.” Tugging at the waist of his shorts, she started pulling them down along with his boxers.

He helped her, kicking the material off his legs. Then he slid a hand between her legs, feeling how aroused she was under the lace of her thong. 

Her hands reached up to pull his hips to hers again. “Now, please.” 

He slipped his fingers under her thong and yanked it out of the way. She heard the lace tear, and thought she should care about it, but instead she was relieved it was out of the way. Feeling him at her entrance, she lifted her hips to meet his thrust and he slid in deep. Together they set a hurried rhythm, both impatient to reach climax.

Emma brought one of her legs up around his waist, trying to increase the pressure when they came together. Clay groaned and hooked his arm under her leg and lifted it higher as he increased the pace of his thrusts.

Pressure building, she knew she was close, but she needed more. She brought her hands down to grip Clay’s ass, her nails digging into the contracting muscles. “I can’t… I need...” She didn’t know exactly what it was, but she needed it now. Clay understood though and brought his hand between them to press his thumb against the small button of flesh just above where they were joined. The pressure was all it took to bring on her rush of release.

Overwhelmed by the strength of her orgasm, she mindlessly bit into Clay’s shoulder. He moaned her name and thrust harder, joining her over the edge. They continued to move together drawing out their shared bliss for as long as possible.

Eventually the pleasure ebbed, and their frantic motions ceased. Clay caught his weight on his arm and rolled to Emma’s side to avoid crushing her. She turned with him and rested against his side. They relaxed together, waiting for the thundering of their hearts to slow.

Finally, getting his breath back, Clay spoke. “Em, wow…that was…incredible.”

“Yeah.” She lifted her head from his shoulder, meeting his gaze, and gave him a self-conscious smile.

He tilted his head up and kissed her firmly. “I didn’t expect that at all.”

“Me neither.” She rested her head on his chest as she thought about what had just passed between them. “I…when you left last night, I wished we could be together then. And, I guess, all day today it was there in the back of my mind we’d have time together tonight. And when I got here, you came in the room practically right out of the shower, and I…” Emma’s voice faded away as she tried to understand what happened to her earlier.

“You?” Clay’s hand rubbed her back as he waited for her answer.

She turned pink as she remembered the moment. “I needed you then, right away. Nothing else mattered.”

“Em, don’t be self-conscious about it. There are times when I feel the same way about you.”

She locked eyes with him again. “Really?”

“Really.”

Hearing Clay’s answer reassured her and increased her confidence in herself and his attraction to her. She tilted her head up and kissed him softly. “I’m glad.”

They smiled at each other, but then Emma realized she had forgotten all about their dinner. “I think our pizza’s cold though.”

He gave her a wide grin. “Completely worth it. Besides I like cold pizza.”

“Of course you do.” Emma sat up and looked down at her sundress crumpled up around her waist. “Ugh, I guess I’ll be doing the walk of shame in this later.”

“Take it off, and we’ll hang it up. That might help.” He climbed off the bed and found his discarded t-shirt on the floor, passing it to her to wear. Then he located his boxers and pulled them back on. Opening his closet door, he grabbed a hanger and left it on the bed for her to use. “I’ll go get the pizza.”

She stood and finished unfastening the dress and removing it. She also took off her ruined thong and dropped it on the bed. Pulling on Clay’s t-shirt, she put the dress on the hanger and hung it on the closet door.

Clay returned with the pizza box, a roll of paper towels, and drinks. He put everything down and propped the pillows up against the headboard. Once he was satisfied with the arrangement, he settled down there, patting the space next to him for Emma. She sat down and tucked into his side. Opening the box, he took out a piece of pizza for each of them.

Smiling, Emma accepted her slice. Slowly nibbling on it, she watched Clay inhale three. “All that exercise make you hungry?”

He grinned at her teasing. “Maybe a little.”

Emma laughed. At this moment she was truly happy. She never would have thought sitting in bed and eating pizza would make her this content, but it did. She couldn’t imagine any place she’d rather be or anyone she’d rather be with. Turning her head, she kissed Clay softly on the cheek.

Clay smiled at her. “What was that for?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “Just because you make me happy.”

“You make me happy too.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Clay frowned. “I need to tell you something. You might not be so happy once I do.”

“What?” Sitting back against the pillows, Emma detached herself from Clay’s side, waiting to hear what he had to say.

He rubbed his hands over his face. “Yesterday when I was out with the Team, your Dad asked me about what’s going on with you and Hannah.”

She opened her mouth to ask how her father even knew anything was happening with her and Hannah, but before she could speak, Clay continued.

“I guess he ran into Hannah’s Mom, and she told him something was going on because of some guy. He was confused about why you two would be fighting over a guy since you’re with me, so I had to explain what was happening.” 

Sighing, Emma nodded. “Yeah, I guess I can see where he’d wonder what it was about, but why would that make me unhappy?”

Clay avoided Emma’s gaze by busying himself with closing up the pizza box and putting it aside. “The guys were all there, and they were angry about how this guy Tyler has been treating Hannah.”

Emma snorted. “They can join the club.”

“If it were up to Sonny, we’d be grabbing Tyler and giving him a beating.”

“If only you could.” She sighed.

“Yeah, Jason put a stop to the idea, but he did say we should keep an eye on the situation in case it gets worse. And this is the part you won’t like, they thought I should monitor what was going on through you.” 

She gave him a probing look. “Oh, like spying on me?”

“That is exactly what I said it would be. And I said I wouldn’t do that to you.”

She patted his leg. “Good.”

“But Em, I think they’re legitimately worried about Hannah, and the whole team feels an obligation to Adam, so if things become worse, you’ll tell me, won’t you?”

Emma considered Clay’s request. She knew Clay still held some guilt about Hannah’s father’s death, and he, and the rest of the team, would feel strongly they needed to take care of this for Adam. She also had to admit she liked not being the only one who worried about this situation with Hannah. “I will, but I don’t know that his behavior will be anything you all could do anything about. I mean, he’s just being a…douche. He treats her like crap, but as far as I know, he’s not hurting her physically.”

“I know, but if it changes, please tell me.” Clay gave her serious look as he made his request.

She nodded. “Okay, since you were so good about telling Bravo you wouldn’t spy on me.” She leaned over and gave him another kiss.

“Uh, so there’s something else I should tell you too.” 

Frowning, Emma tilted her head inquisitively. 

“I may have mentioned to Jason, in front of the guys, that your dorm called him the hottest dad.” Clay winced as he waited for her response.

“You may have?” She did her best to be stern.

“Okay, I did mention it.” He made an apologetic face.

“Clay!” Emma suspected he wasn’t very sorry. “What did he say?”

Clay gave her a huge grin. “The look on his face was hilarious. The guys thought it was great too. They gave him shit for it.”

“But what did Dad say?”

“Uh, so he kind of said there would be consequences for me, uh and you, for sharing that information.” Clay couldn’t quite meet Emma’s eyes as he told her.

“Clay, you know I only told you because I was so grossed out by my friends thinking my father is a DILF.” She let her exasperation show in her tone of voice.

“I do, but it was too good not to use.” He gave her puppy dog eyes in the hope she would forgive him. “I’m sorry.”

“Hmmm.” She supposed she could understand how hard it would be for Clay to not use the info. She knew how much the guys all liked to harass each other. “Was he really embarrassed?”

A mischievous glint in his eye, Clay smiled playfully. “Oh yeah.”

Emma giggled. Pulling her closer into his side, Clay joined in with Emma’s laughter. Eventually their laughter ebbed, and they sat together catching their breath. 

Clay turned and kissed the top of Emma’s head. “Are you sure you can’t stay tonight?”

Sighing, Emma shook her head. “No, I need to get back for Cathy.” She glanced at the time. “I should probably take a quick shower and get dressed.”

She got up and headed for the drawer she kept some underwear in, while Clay gathered up the pizza box and paper towels. He turned to see her grab the ruined thong off the end of bed. 

Balling the torn lace in her hand, she smiled impishly. “I guess I won’t be using these again.”

Clay grimaced. “Em, I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.” 

A bashful smile slipped across her face as she remembered how the panties were torn. “I didn’t want you to be careful.”

“I’ll buy you new ones, okay?”

She let out a small laugh. “On your own?”

An offended look crossed his face. “Are you saying I won’t be able to choose something you’ll like?”

“Not at all. I’ll be interested to see what you pick.” Emma smirked. 

“I have good taste, and experience buying gifts for, well, buying gifts.” Clay started out sounding offended, but when he realized what he was saying, he backtracked to apologetic again.

Tilting her head, Emma teased him. “So you have experience buying women’s lingerie?”

His face turned red. “Uh, I should put this leftover pizza in the fridge.”

Laughing, Emma watched him leave the bedroom. Once he was gone, she grabbed the hanger with her dress on it and went into the bathroom to take her shower. She hoped the steam would get rid of some wrinkles.

* * *

Emma arrived back at the hotel to see Cathy and Hannah sitting at the semi-circle of benches overlooking the ocean. Parking her car, she got out and quickly walked over to join them. “You’re back already? I didn’t expect you until much later. I’m so sorry for making you wait. You should have texted me.”

Cathy turned to smile at Emma. “That’s okay. We finished earlier than we thought, and I didn’t want to make you cut your evening short.”

“Yeah, we didn’t want to interrupt your booty call.” Hannah waved her hand carelessly at Emma’s wrinkled dress.

At Hannah’s dig, Emma experienced an intense flash of temper. Her fists clenched at her sides. Any patience or understanding she had for Hannah’s situation with Tyler was instantly erased, and the only thing remaining was her anger at what Hannah was implying about Clay and Emma’s evening and their relationship. Forcing her voice to sound casual, she spoke. “Well, you’re the expert on booty calls.”

Hannah gasped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not the one always waiting around for some guy to call me when he has nothing better to do.” Emma narrowed her eyes and added, “Or no one better.”

Hannah looked as if she had been slapped, and for a moment Emma felt bad for what she said. But then she remembered how hurt she had been when Hannah accused her of hitting on Tyler.

“Okay you two. That’s enough! I can’t believe how childish you’re both acting.” Cathy stood up and pointed to one of the benches. “You sit!” She waited for Emma to take a seat. “Now we’re going to figure out what the hell is going on.”

Both Emma and Hannah spoke in an effort to defend themselves.

Raising her hand, Cathy cut them off. “Quiet! I’m speaking right now. You each will talk when I let you. You first.” She pointed at Hannah. “Tell me how you could think Emma would hit on your boyfriend.”

“He’s not even—”

Cathy raised a finger. “Shut it! You are not speaking, Emma Hayes. Hannah, talk.”

“I…” Dropping her head, Hannah stared down at her french pedicure. “I didn’t really think that. It’s just when I came back and heard Tyler talking to Emma like that, I got so mad.”

“Mad at Tyler, or mad at Emma?” Resting a hand on her hip, Cathy gave Hannah a probing stare.

Hannah shrugged. “A little at Tyler, but, um…mostly at Emma.” 

“But I didn’t DO anything! I kept trying to stop him.” Emma’s frustration with Hannah was obvious in the tone of her voice.

“Why would you be mad at Emma?” In comparison, Cathy sounded more curious.

Sighing, Hannah studied the ocean. People walked down the beach along the breaking tide, and her eyes tracked their progress. Her two friends waited for her reply. Cathy watched her patiently while Emma jiggled her foot.

“Because it was one more thing.” Hannah looked back to Cathy with sad eyes. “One more thing Emma had that I didn’t.”

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but Cathy motioned to her to be quiet. Sitting next to Hannah, Cathy squeezed her friend’s hand. “What do you mean?”

“Ever since we started college it’s been so hard, and Emma was living this wonderful life with new friends and music and New York.” Hannah turned to look at Emma. “You didn’t even come home at Christmas, like you had better things to do.”

Hannah’s accusation surprised Emma. “I didn’t come home because it was too hard without my Mom. It hurt too much.”

Hannah shook her head. “You didn’t say that. Every time I talked to you it was all about what a fun time you were having with all your new friends and how much you loved Tisch and everything you were doing there.”

Unsure what her response should be, Emma didn’t speak. She had no idea Hannah wasn’t enjoying school. Worried she was a bad friend, Emma tried to remember their conversations during the school year. Had she spent too much time talking about herself instead of listening to Hannah?

But Hannah wasn’t looking for Emma to respond. Instead, she continued her litany of unhappiness. “And then you ran into Clay, and all you could talk about was him. So then you had the perfect boyfriend too, to go with your perfect life. It is too much to ask that you don’t have my boyfriend all over you too?”

Hannah’s last question was too much for Emma though. She felt guilty she didn’t realize Hannah wasn’t enjoying college, but she would not be a scapegoat for this jerk’s inability to control himself around the female sex. “Again, I didn’t do anything to make him be all over me. That’s all on him. And, how can you even call him your boyfriend? It’s pretty obvious he’s interested in anyone with boobs.”

Expression tightening, Hannah raked Emma with an angry glance. “Oh so you’re the expert on guys now because you have a steady boyfriend? Of course, that’ll only be until he gets killed on a mission.”

“Hannah!” Cathy’s appalled cry stopped Hannah from saying anymore. “How could you even say something like that?”

Frozen in shock, Emma couldn’t speak. Hannah had put into words the one thing Emma had purposely been avoiding when thinking about her relationship with Clay. He could die. Immediately she pushed that thought out of her mind. She couldn’t think about it. Instead, she tuned back into the conversation still going on around her. The only evidence Hannah’s words had affected her was her hands clenched together in her lap.

Cathy shook her head. “That’s just mean.”

“Are you saying it isn’t true? I think we both know better than anyone it is.” Hannah raised her chin defiantly.

“You don’t know it’s true, and even if you did, it’s still a cruel thing to say.” Cathy looked over to Emma, who was sitting rigidly on the bench. “You should apologize to Emma.”

Hannah was silent.

The quiet moment lengthened and became tense. Finally, Emma stood. “It’s fine, Cathy. I don’t need an apology. I doubt it would be sincere anyway. I guess I know now what kind of friend Hannah really is.”

Taking a deep breath, Emma stiffened her spine and began walking back towards the hotel’s employee entrance. She forced herself to move at a normal pace and not run back to her room. All she wanted was to make it to her bed and crawl under the covers, hiding from the world. A part of her also wanted to hop in her car and go to Clay. She knew he would be there to offer her comfort. But if she went to him, she would have to face the truth in Hannah’s words. She could lose Clay, and she wasn’t ready to think about that.

Halfway across the parking lot, Emma heard a voice calling her.

“Emma, wait! Come back!” Hannah followed Emma, trying to attract her friend’s attention.

Emma turned back. “What now? You’ve already accused me of trying to steal your boyfriend, implied I’m a slut, and said my boyfriend is going to die. What else is there?”

“I just…” Hannah’s voice faded out, and Emma couldn’t decide if her possibly former friend didn’t know what to say or was afraid to say what she wanted.

Then the words poured out of her mouth. “It’s not fair! We both went away to school. We both went to classes and tried to meet people. And you made all kinds of friends and have this great life and now a guy that loves you, and I… it was all so hard!”

“That’s not my fault. I didn’t do it to hurt you.” Emma would have been more sympathetic, but the hurt Hannah caused made it difficult for her to be anything other than upset.

While Hannah unloaded on Emma, Cathy walked over to join them. Resting her hand on Hannah’s arm while Emma responded, Cathy waited to break into their argument. “Why don’t we go sit down again instead of sharing our problems with everyone in the parking lot?”

Neither Hannah nor Emma moved. 

Cathy gave Hannah’s arm a gentle tug. “Come on.”

Reluctant to be insulted and blamed for Hannah’s issues again, Emma hesitated in going along with Cathy’s request. Cathy glanced back at Emma. “It’s okay, Emma. Come on.”

Walking slowly, Emma followed them back to the benches. Cathy settled next to Hannah, and Emma chose a seat opposite them. For a minute no one spoke. The sound of the waves breaking on the shore soothed Emma. She kept silent though as she didn’t think there was anything she could say to help.

Finally, Cathy broke the silence. “Hannah, why didn’t you tell us you were having such a hard time?”

“I don’t know. It seemed so pathetic. Everyone else was having a great time, and I didn’t want anyone’s pity.” Hannah was quiet for a moment. “I had enough of that when my Dad died.”

Both Emma and Cathy nodded in understanding. Emma remembered too well the pitying stares she received after her Mom passed away.

“But we wouldn’t have been like that.” Cathy wrapped an arm around Hannah’s slumped shoulders. “We would have tried to help.”

Emma nodded in agreement with Cathy. She wasn’t sure what they could have done to help Hannah, but perhaps her friend wouldn’t have been so miserable if she had been able to share her pain with her friends. 

“There’s nothing you could have done to help anyway. It was me that needed to figure it out.” Hannah pushed her curls off her face as she spoke.

“We could have called more or come to visit you. Or, you could have come to visit us. Something.” Emma leaned toward her friends on the opposite bench.

Hannah shrugged at Emma’s words. “Maybe.”

“Hannah, do you not like UVA? Do you think you want to transfer to some other school?” Cathy asked what Emma had been wondering.

“I don’t think it’s UVA. I think it’s me.” Hannah frowned as she thought a moment. “I liked my classes. I mean, they were only intro ones for my major, but studying was the thing that got me through.”

Remembering how overwhelmed she had been at the beginning of her time at NYU, Emma tried to think of ways she had made friends. “Didn’t your Resident Assistant organize events in your dorm at the beginning of the year? That’s how I met people at first.” 

“She did, but I ended up living with a roommate and on a hallway of girls who all pledged sororities. That is so not me.” Hannah sighed. “And once they realized I wasn’t pledging, and I didn’t care about the Greek system, they all ignored me. They weren’t mean or anything, but they had no interest in me at all. It made me feel invisible.” 

“Oh Hannah, I’m sorry that happened.” Cathy wrapped her arms around Hannah and hugged her. “I wish you told us.”

“I guess I should have, but the more they ignored me, the more invisible I felt. And then it was like it affected everything. I thought nobody else would be interested in me either, people in my classes or anybody from home.” Hannah dashed her hand under her eyes to stop her tears from falling.

“Don’t ever think that. We always want to know what’s going on with you.” Moving to sit on her friend’s other side, Emma put her arm around Hannah’s shoulders.

At Emma’s words, Hannah began to cry in earnest. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold back her sobs. She started to speak, but her weeping made her words unintelligible. Cathy and Emma did their best to comfort her, waiting to hear what she was trying to tell them.

Finally, Hannah regained control of her emotions. Taking a shuddering breath, she turned to look at Emma. “God, how can you be so kind to me after I was so terrible to you?”

“It’s okay. I understand.” Emma rubbed Hannah’s shoulder.

Sitting up straighter, Hannah shook her head. “No, it’s not okay. I’m really sorry. I was so…” She hesitated before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I was jealous. At least, I was at first. Every time I talked to you, it sounded like you were loving school. And I know you weren’t doing it on purpose to hurt me, but it hurt anyway. So I held it against you, and I shouldn’t have.”

“I get it, really.” Emma hugged Hannah into her side. “Apology accepted.”

“You said at first it was you were jealous, but what was it after that?” Cathy asked the question Emma hadn’t considered.

“I…” Dropping her gaze to her lap, Hannah slipped from under Emma’s arm. “Then I was angry.” 

“Why?” Emma wanted to hear the specifics.

“You ran into Clay and started flirting or whatever it was in the Spring.” Hannah

“I don’t get it.” Cathy wrinkled her brow. “Why would that make you angry?”

Hannah frowned at Cathy. “What did we always say we would never do?”

While Cathy tried to figure out what Hannah was talking about, the answer occurred to Emma immediately. “We said we’d never date a SEAL.”

Cathy’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s what made you so mad at Emma? We were kids when we talked about that. We had never even dated yet.”

“And considering everything that’s happened, do you think we were wrong?” Hannah raised an eyebrow at Cathy.

Snorting quietly to herself, Emma shook her head. “I didn’t do it on purpose. You’re acting like I went looking for a SEAL like some kind of groupie.”

“I know you didn’t plan it, but you didn’t stop it either.”

“Stop it? Hannah, I fell in love. And yeah, he’s a SEAL, and sure it would be easier if he weren’t, but he wouldn’t be the Clay I love if he did something else.” Emma’s gaze was challenging as she looked at Hannah.

But before she could speak, Cathy answered Hannah’s question. “I do think we were wrong. Seeing how happy Emma is tells me we were wrong.”

“Happy?” Looking to Cathy, Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “But for how long?” 

“Hannah, you can’t—”

“No, Cathy,” Emma broke in, stopping her friend from chiding Hannah. “Hannah’s right. Maybe the worst will happen.” Taking a deep breath, Emma worked to keep her voice steady. “But if it does, as hard as that would be, I would still know what it’s like to be truly loved.”

Hannah glanced away, crossing her arms, her disbelief evident. 

“You don’t think that’s important?” Emma stared at Hannah in surprise.

Shrugging, Hannah let her arms drop. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“If you really loved Tyler, and he loved you, you’d understand.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hannah’s voice took on a higher pitch.

Emma tried her best to explain so Hannah would understand. “Just that, being with Clay, loving him, has been the best thing that’s happened to me. And having that experience, no matter what happens in the future, has made my life better. And, if you ever felt that you’d know what a big deal it is. That’s all.” 

“If you say so.” Hannah’s reply lacked the offended tone of her earlier words

“I do.” The quiet confidence in Emma’s reply put a stop to any more questions.

They sat silently, then Cathy spoke. “Hannah, even if you don’t believe what Emma’s saying, why are you with Tyler? He treats you so bad. Tonight, he came by our table for about five minutes and then blew us off. We saw him hitting on those other girls. Why do you want to be with someone like him?”

Hannah bit her lip. “I… he… I don’t know. We were in a class together, and one day he asked to borrow my notes, so I loaned them to him. To thank me, he took me to a coffee shop on campus, and it was like he saw me. And after months of being ignored, it felt good. So when he’d call or text, I’d meet up with him. For once, I felt like everybody else in college with a guy who was into me.”

“Okay, I can see why it started.” Cathy squeezed Hannah’s hand. “But why are you still letting him treat you this way? Tell him no the next time he calls or texts.”

“I always mean to say no, but when I hear from him, I have no willpower.” Hannah’s shoulders sagged again as she spoke. 

“But Hannie, you deserve better.” Cathy released Hannah’s hand and wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders.

“What’s better? I mean, isn’t this the way it is for most girls we know?” Hannah’s next words were barely a whisper. “And I don’t want to be alone.”

Shocked, Cathy said nothing, but Emma let her anger at Tyler for making Hannah feel this way come out in her words. “No, it isn’t this way for most of us. I KNOW it isn’t. Hannah, look at me.” Waiting until Hannah lifted her head, Emma met her friend’s gaze. “There are guys out there who don’t use women, who treat us with respect.”

Hannah huffed out a soft breath. “You were just lucky.” 

“It’s true. I was lucky with Clay, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other guys out there who are like him. I know you don’t want to be alone, and what happened at school made things even harder, but you need to wait for someone who’s right for you. You have to believe you deserve that.”

“Emma’s right. And maybe you could, um, you know, wait before you got physical with him.” Cathy blushed as she spoke.

Both Emma and Hannah looked at Cathy and burst into laughter. Hannah’s glee held a tinge of hysteria, but Emma thought the emotional release was what her friend needed. Finally, their amusement subsided, although Hannah snorted a few times before she had herself under control again.

“What’s so funny? I think it makes sense.” A puzzled expression crossed Cathy’s face.

“It does,” Emma agreed. “Clay and I were friends long before anything happened physically between us. It’s how you said it.”

Hannah giggled again, drawing Emma’s attention back to her.

“She’s right though. Maybe you could be friends with a guy first next time.”

Taking a deep breath, Hannah sat back up. “I know you’re both right and sitting here it’s easy to say I’ll tell Tyler no next time, but I’m not sure I can do it later when I’m on my own.”

“Call one of us next time he gets in touch with you. We’ll help you.” Cathy caught Emma’s eye over Hannah’s head to make sure they were in agreement.

Emma nodded to Cathy, and then added her own idea. “Yeah, and we’ll come up with a plan together for when you go back to school, so you can make new friends and not be so lonely, okay?”

“Okay.” Hannah’s whole expression brightened as she listened to her friends’ suggestions. “Thank you both. I don’t think I could do this without you. I’m sorry I was such a bitch about everything.” As she spoke, Hannah sounded more confident than she had in quite a while.

“That’s what friends are for,” Emma reassured Hannah. “Now, why don’t we go back to my room and binge on bad TV and ice cream? We can forget about men completely for a while.”

“Works for me,” Cathy said

Hannah nodded. “That’s the best offer I’ve had in a while.”

“They sell pints of Ben & Jerry’s in the hotel lobby. I’ll go get some and meet you both back at my room. Here’s the key.” Emma handed the key to Cathy and headed for the hotel lobby while Cathy and Hannah started in the other direction for Emma’s room.

* * *

Over the next few days, Cathy and Emma came up with ideas for Hannah to meet more people at school. They scoured the online list of clubs and activities at UVA, trying to find ones appealing to Hannah. There were a few she found interesting, and they made a plan for her to check them out when she returned to Charlottesville.

One evening while the three of them were barbecuing by the pool at Hannah’s house, Tyler texted, expecting Hannah to drop everything and join him. With Emma and Cathy there, Hannah was able to tell him she was busy with no problem. Emma would have preferred Hannah tell him she wasn’t interested… ever, but decided small steps were better than nothing.

Another day, Hannah received a text from Tyler while at her job. Instead of replying, she called Cathy, who was shopping with Emma. Hannah had a harder time turning him down a second time. Although she agreed in theory with Cathy and Emma about not seeing Tyler whenever he summoned her, Hannah realized he might never call again once she turned him down twice in a row. Her friends pointed out if he never got in touch again because she didn’t abandon all her own plans to be with him, then he wasn’t the right guy for her. She accepted what they were saying, but her confidence about it wasn’t as strong as they would have liked. Both of them knew they would need to continue helping Hannah stay firm.

The remaining days of Cathy’s visit flew by, and sadly her last evening with them arrived. In the morning, she would fly home, but tonight she, Hannah, and Emma were going out. They planned on having dinner at a restaurant of Cathy’s choice then visiting some of her favorite places, the most likely being Blue Cow Ice Cream Company. 

When they made their plans for her last evening, Cathy asked for Clay to join them if he could. The request surprised Emma and made her nervous about Hannah’s response. Their friendship had been repaired, but the cracks where it had been mended still existed. The relationship between them needed time to fully heal, and Emma didn’t want to strain it so soon after their reconciliation. But Cathy insisted, telling Emma in front of Hannah, she thought they needed to really get to know Clay because he was such an important person in Emma’s life now.

Emma appreciated Cathy’s efforts to develop a true friendship with Clay. When she told Clay about Cathy’s request and explained her friend’s reasoning, he agreed to accompany them on their farewell evening out. The pleased expression on his face convinced her he liked the idea of getting to know her closest friends better.

Cathy, Emma, and Hannah had spent Cathy’s last day together, and then prepared for their evening out at Hannah’s house. They arrived at the restaurant and gave Cathy’s name to the hostess while they waited for Clay to join them. He entered the restaurant as their pager activated, alerting them their table was ready.

They exchanged greetings, and Emma gave him a quick kiss before they followed the hostess to a table on the upper outdoor deck. They settled in and began chatting. As they talked and laughed, they ordered drinks and appetizers and then their meals, but they hardly paid attention to the food as they enjoyed their conversation. 

Initially, Hannah was stiff with Clay, but as time passed, she relaxed and participated freely in the banter. Cathy and Hannah told Clay some funny stories from the three friends’ time together growing up, some tales being embarrassing for Emma, much to her chagrin. In the interest of fairness, Clay told them some stories about a few awkward things that happened to him while in the Navy. Emma also convinced him to share the story about how he learned to two-step.

Eventually they finished their meals, and the waitress made multiple passes by their table until they realized she was trying to get them to wrap up their visit and free up the table for other patrons. Paying their bill, they bickered about where they should head next, with Cathy chiming in about how she wished there was place they could go tonight to two-step. This comment triggered a round of boisterous laughter, which Clay joined in on despite his pink cheeks.

As they exited the restaurant, Clay pulled Emma aside, telling her he needed to make a detour to the men’s room. She indicated the three of them would wait for him outside on the boardwalk.

Once out in the fresh air, they walked past the restaurant to a spot where they could look out on the beach while they waited. Leaning against the railing, Emma let the wind blow her hair back from her face. Cathy reclined on one side of her, while Hannah stood on the other.

“That was a lot of fun.” Hannah sounded surprised.

“We’re not done yet.” Cathy nudged Emma. “As soon as Clay finishes checking his hair, we’re going to get my strawberry shortcake sundae.”

Emma laughed, remembering her conversation with Cathy about Clay’s hair. “Should be quick then, because Clay doesn’t spend a lot of time of his hair.”

“He’s no Julian, that’s for sure.” Cathy snickered.

Hannah snorted. “Oh God, remember his man bun that time?”

All three of them started laughing together at Hannah’s words. As their hilarity faded, they heard a voice calling Hannah’s name.

“Hey, Hannah.” Tyler was walking up the boardwalk towards them. “You guys were having so much fun, you didn’t see me waving to you.”

Hannah’s happiness deflated as she turned to face Tyler. “Yeah, I didn’t see you.”

Both Cathy and Emma sent looks of dislike his way. 

“That’s okay. I’m glad I ran into you. We can get that drink now.” Tyler’s voice held the confidence of someone who didn’t expect to be turned down.

Hannah pushed her hair behind her ear. “I’m with my friends right now.”

“Not a problem. In fact, it’s perfect. I’m with some of my friends too.” He waved back towards a bar. “You can all come.”

“I don’t think that’s what…” Hannah’s voice drifted away as she lost her confidence.

“Come on, Hannah. You know you want to.” Tyler stepped forward and grasped Hannah’s wrist.

Her temper growing as she watched Tyler crush Hannah’s spirit, Emma stepped forward. “She said she didn’t want to.”

“I don’t believe she said that at all.” Tyler spoke without even glancing at Emma.

Hannah’s eyes flicked to Emma and back to Tyler. “I don’t want to.”

“You know that’s not true.” He pulled Hannah forward by her arm, still caught in his hand.

“Don’t—”

Cutting Hannah off, Emma reached out and pulled her friend’s hand away from Tyler’s grip. “She said it now. Get a hint.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed as he turned to face Emma. “And who are you? Her keeper?” He moved forward and seized Emma’s wrist.

Before he could do anything, Emma twisted her hand upward and brought her other hand under his wrist while rotating her hips. This action freed Emma’s arm and turned Tyler’s body around, with her holding his arm bent behind him. Emma’s quick action surprised him, and when she pushed him away, he lost his balance and landed on his hands and knees.

Shocked, Tyler froze for a second then he quickly stood and lunged for Emma. “You bitch!”

He never reached his goal. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Clay caught the back of Tyler’s collar and yanked him away from Emma.

Tyler pulled himself free of Clay’s hold and swung around. “What business is it of yours?”

“You’re attacking defenseless women on the boardwalk. I’m making it my business.” 

“If you’re thinking they’ll be grateful, don’t bother. The blonde’s an ice queen, and the brunette wasn’t that great. I don’t know about the third, but considering who’s she with, I wouldn’t expect much.” Tyler dismissed them with a shrug.

“You pig!” Emma dove forward, ready to smack Tyler. Clay caught her around the waist before she could hit her target.

Smirking, Tyler gestured at Emma. “Not so defenseless after all, is she?”

Clay released Emma and gently pushed her back towards Cathy. “Oh yeah, did the big, scary girl hurt you when she shoved you? Did you get a boo boo?”

“Fuck you, asshole!” Pulling his fist back to punch Clay, Tyler sprang forward.

Clay stepped aside, catching Tyler’s fist before it could do any damage. Tyler’s forward momentum tripped him up, as his fist was still caught in Clay’s hand. Once he gained his balance again, he didn’t try to free his fist. Instead, he punched out with his other hand and struck a glancing blow to Clay’s cheek. 

At the end of his patience, Clay clenched his fist and popped Tyler one. Even at half Clay’s full strength, the blow was enough to put Tyler on his ass with blood gushing from his nose.

The commotion had drawn a small crowd, including Tyler’s buddies. They moved forward to help him up.

“Did you see what that asshole did?” Tyler whined as his pals helped him to his feet.

“Yeah, dumb ass, we saw.” One of his friends chastised him. “We saw everything. You want to get kicked out of UVA? You’re already on probation. They hear about you harassing women, including another UVA student, and you’re out.”

Giving Tyler a push forward, his friend turned back to Clay. “Look, we’ll take care of him. He won’t be a problem.”

Clay frowned. “He better not. And if I hear he’s bothering her at all when you’re back at UVA, I will be dealing with him then.” Clay gestured to Hannah as he spoke.

“Got it. We’ll make sure he leaves her alone. He’s really not a bad guy.”

“Right.” Clay glanced at the gathering crowd and turned to Emma, Hannah, and Cathy. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

As the four of them began walking down the strip away from the busy restaurants, Clay slipped an arm around Emma. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine, just pissed,” she replied.

“I guess you are, slugger.” He chuckled. “Nice move breaking his hold.”

She gave him a pleased smile. “Uncle Sonny taught me.”

“He’d be proud.” Clay kissed her temple and looked over to Hannah and Cathy. “Are you both okay? Did he touch either of you?”

“I’m fine too. He didn’t bother me.” Cathy put an arm around Hannah. “He grabbed Hannah’s arm though.”

“It’s okay. He didn’t hurt me.” Hannah sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault he did all that.”

“It’s not your fault, Hannah. It’s his. He’s the asshole.” Emma’s voice was firm. She wanted Hannah to know they did not blame her for what happened. Cathy and Clay voiced their agreement.

Nodding, Hannah didn’t speak again as they continued to walk to Cathy’s favorite ice cream place. 

As they approached the Blue Cow, people crowded the order windows and packed the picnic tables. Cathy noticed a group about to leave a table and rushed forward to claim it. The others followed in her wake.

“Okay, Hannah, you sit and hold this for us. Do you want to share a Strawberry Shortcake Sundae with me?” Cathy settled Hannah on a bench.

“I’ll go to the window with you Cathy, and Clay can stay here with Hannah.” Emma gave Clay push in the small of his back towards one of the seats.

Clay’s eyes widened as he realized Emma and Cathy were leaving him on his own with Hannah. 

Emma stood on her toes and whispered into his ear. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” Settling back on her feet, she spoke louder for the others to hear as well. “Your usual? A vanilla milkshake?”

He nodded as he sat down and watched Emma and Cathy disappear in the crowd around the windows. Neither he nor Hannah spoke, the silence becoming uncomfortable to Clay. He wondered how much longer Emma and Cathy would be.

Hannah sat with her shoulders slumped, her happiness from earlier in the evening gone. She shook her head and broke the silence. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. If I hadn’t gotten so hung up on Tyler…. Why did I do that?”

“Hannah, don’t beat yourself up over it.” Clay reached out and touched her arm. “We all do stupid things sometimes when it comes to trying to find the right person.”

“Right.” Hannah rolled her eyes.

“No, really.” Clay made an effort to convince her. “I’ve been there.” 

“I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but you don’t have to,” Hannah said.

Clay sighed. “Look, before Emma and I got together, I dated someone who I thought understood my job and was interested in me. But it turned out she was only interested in how she could change me and what I do, for her benefit. I ignored all the signs until finally her efforts to change me started to ruin my friendships with my team. That’s when I realized, when I nearly lost my brothers. So, I do know how foolish we all can be when it comes to relationships. You have to hang in there and eventually the right person will come along.”

A hopeful expression dawned on Hannah’s face. “And then you bumped into Emma in New York.”

“Yeah.” Clay grinned.

“Thanks for telling me.” Hannah leaned forward and gave Clay a kiss on the cheek.

Clay shrugged and looked down bashfully. 

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Emma placed Clay’s milkshake in front of him and settled on the bench by his side with her dessert.

“Clay was being nice to me about how dumb I was about Tyler.” Hannah reached for the spoon and napkins Cathy offered her.

Cathy sat and put the sundae she and Hannah were sharing on the table between them. “You weren’t dumb. You were… taken in for a little while.”

“I say we stop talking about stupid things we’ve done in the past for the opposite sex and enjoy our ice cream.” Emma raised her spoon in a toast to the others.

“Agreed.” Cathy took a huge bite of strawberries and whipped cream.

Clay and Hannah exchanged a smile and joined the others in enjoying their treats.

* * *

Later that night back at Hannah’s house, while Cathy used the bathroom to prepare for bed, Hannah settled next to Emma on her bed. “Em, I really am sorry about what I said that night about Clay. I was hurting so much, and I guess I wanted to make everyone else hurt too. But I never should have said it. Clay’s really sweet, and you two are great together.”

“Thanks, Hannie, I’m sorry I was so mean back to you.” Emma leaned over and hugged Hannah.

Returning the hug, Hannah waited until Emma sat back to speak again. “That’s okay. I probably deserved it.”

Emma smiled. “Maybe a little. But I do understand where you’re coming from with the whole SEAL thing. I never planned on it, but he’s so special and I love him, so I have to deal with it.”

“I suppose there’s no such thing as a perfect relationship.” Hannah sighed and reclined against the headboard.

“No, I guess not.”

Cathy entered the room. “What are you two up to?”

“Oh, we were just saying no relationship is perfect,” Hannah replied.

“Except for our friendship, of course.” Cathy bounced down onto the bed between Emma and Hannah. “We are most definitely perfect.”

Emma laughed. “Well, I am anyway.”

“Oh please.” Hannah snorted.

Cathy poked Hannah. “You are always such a snorter when you laugh, Hannah Seaver.”

“No, I’m not.” Hannah pretended to be outraged.

“Excuse me, but you just did.”

“Did not.”

They continued to bicker and laugh together, happy their friendship had been mended.


End file.
